The Wind Beneath My Wings
by WolvesKey
Summary: Kaida won't accept the thought of being an orphan-yet the problem is, she doesn't know who her parents are! In a bid to prove her worst thought wrong, she decides to search for her mother. AKATSUKIxOC DISCONTINUED FOR NOW-currently editing story before updating.
1. Chapter One EDITED

**EDITED ON: 11****th ****January 2013**

**A/N: Hi there dear reader's, here's the first chapter that I promised would be edited, it flows together better than the original, though I've kept it mostly the same just with some changes to grammar/spelling and sentence structure. I am aware that Tobi isn't Madara, but if you remember, no one-aside from Zetsu and eventually Kisame knew of his real identity. So everyone just assumed he was Madara Uchiha. Ok? So please don't be confused by that minor detail, haha! **

**WARNINGS FOR THIS STORY: This is mostly a family, adventure, action, friendship and angst fic. Though I haven't ruled out the possibility of romance in the future, we shall just see where it takes us :)**

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned it, Akatsuki would rule and everyone **_**else**_** would die.**

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE:**

The bittersweet tinge of blood was thick in the air, the dark room was now plastered in the stuff, and the lifeless bodies that were once people, remained no more than ominous flesh lain in chopped pieces everywhere, decorating this invisible scene with scarlet.

But that was what they'd deserved; they hadn't paid and therefore died because of it. Allowing the Akatsuki to claim all the money and disappear without a trace, leaving no clues as to who'd done such a terrible thing in a rather secluded small town in the middle of the Sound country.

In fact it was better that they had killed them, for they went away with more money than they would have otherwise been paid, it was a lucky break for them.

And one that they would gloat about later.

Three figures stood on a hill watching over the Sound village, the night dark, the moon high; almost full, the stars shining, all-in-all a wondrous night, tinged with the smell of blood and murder.

As far as their knowledge went, it appeared the whole town was sleeping, no one would possibly know of the horror that'd taken place in that room, until…perhaps a day or so more?

If anyone cared to stop by and look, though the smell would surely repulse them.

It had been a good night, that much was certain, they'd gotten rid of some pests that they were sure would've spilled information that they'd been involved with the Akatsuki to one of the five nations eventually. And then the hunt for them would begin once more.

All those years of planning and silencing others that they were sure they couldn't trust would have all been in vain.

But this was their lucky strike, for certainly if they hadn't killed them, then they would've sent word to their neighbouring country-the Fire country (one the larger nations), and they already had enough trouble from them as it was.

"You don't think we should've burnt the building?" a feminine voice spoke quietly to the two men, all of them were clad in dark cloaks adorned with red clouds.

An unusual style.

But a recognisable one, many would quake in fear at the mere sight of the pattern. It only set to warn others of impending doom and destruction.

"Come now, Konan, if we were to set alight to that building just think how boring it would be, no one would actually find the lovely picture we've painted." A shining red eye struck out from the darkness, and from his tall figure a cackle rose, it almost sent shivers down her spine.

"Who knew you could be artistic-Madara." The other male spoke up with a hint of amusement in his voice, his own grey eyes now meeting those bearing the red. For a minute or two silence remained round the three figures, it set to create tension and not of the good kind.

"Do **not** mock me, Pein, must I remind you? Who was it that helped you become global icons of terror? It was I that took you both from the bottom of the pits you were merely scraping against and brought you all the way to the top. In the big leagues, so to speak!" Madara scoffed.

"From what I remember, we are business partners, that means my ideas and commands hold equal standing like your own." Pein challenged, feeling rather brave.

"You're challenging me? How amusing! I am the true leader to 'your' organization, you handed that very right over to me as soon as you agreed to my aid and that doesn't come cheap, _partner_."

Pein's hands curled into fists, wishing for nothing more than to punch that smug prick in the face...or rather his bright orange mask. Even that vile abomination seemed to be mocking him.

"Anyway, I don't find this little act committed tonight very serious, not at all, it was rather amusing to watch them squirm, to hear the blood cough up and flow from their mouths." Madara cackled once more, of course only he was allowed to be amused by his actions-**no one** else was allowed to laugh with him, or show any hint of amusement in his presence, for he would take it as a great offence.

The man known as Pein, ground his teeth together in annoyance, but re-composed himself, as usual Madara misread his words and it had been at the cost of his pride. No one would usually have the balls to dare insult Pein, but Madara could.

Subdued for the moment, he nodded his head towards the 'real' leader of the Akatsuki and muttered almost forcibly "Very well."

Konan waited with bated breath at what Madara's reaction would be.

But there was none, instead Madara faced the village once more, his smirk rang clear in the air, and she let out a sigh of relief. The tension completely gone from her body, but came back when she saw in the corner of her eye Madara staring coldly at her with that Sharingan eye of his.

"What's wrong Konan?" Pein spoke up, before Madara could utter a word, asking a question that Madara was most undoubtedly waiting to hear the answer from.

Konan looked up at the face of her once-dead friend, and answered in a slightly bored tone "I'm feeling rather tired…"

"Having fun **is** rather draining, but it's not a problem when one is immortal." Madara spoke up for himself, he turned and walked slowly from the scene of the village, Pein and Konan following behind him by a few steps, Madara chuckled to himself.

And without turning he stated "Very well, you may return back. I shall come to you soon with a new mission, so don't get too comfy."

On a loud smirk, Madara disappeared, using one of his many abilities to shift out of focus and into _his_ world.

Once the remaining members felt his presence disappear, they each let out a sigh of relief.

"How long are we going to have to play by his rules?" Konan asked angered, she knew that they were being used and didn't like it; he was just as bad as Orochimaru.

Pein looked at Konan, then back to where Madara was stood and answered calmly whilst scowling "I have no idea, we'll just have to wait and see, but I personally, don't like being told what to do!"

* * *

It was two days later, the sun was shining, the heat was just bearable and there were very few clouds in the sky.

A figure flew through the sky with what appeared to be huge white wings, it swooped around in small circles until it came closer and closer to the ground, after a minute the figure with beautiful soft wings stood on the dusty road before an old man stood outside his tea shop.

He was gaping at the figure and was even more surprised when he realised it was a young girl stood across from him.

She lifted a hand up to her face and pulled up the yellow goggles from her eyes and rested them upon her head.

She smiled at him and waved innocently, before she walked calmly towards the old man with greying hair, making sure to not make any sudden movements that would startle him. She was well-aware that people like her were uncommon in this world.

His back was pressed against his small tea shop, his mouth hung open, his eyes staring in 'awe' and shock, and the fact that she carried a huge axe over her backpack didn't go unnoticed by him.

She stopped in front of him; her loose, deep blue hair blew in the slight breeze, her bright orange eyes looking around herself.

"Morning! Can I have…hmm…some green tea and sweet dumplings please?" She smiled warmly eyeing a bench next to him, she went over and took a seat, she glanced up at him and waited for him to move, her expression totally innocent.

"Who…what are you?" His voice held fear, and her face immediately fell.

It changed from a pleasant expression to that off deep pain and sadness.

She lowered her head and knew that she should've gone elsewhere, humans could never be trusted, she'd learned that long ago.

"D-dear, come out and look at this!" The man called to someone inside the small tea shop, this made the girl's head shoot up, she suddenly became weary.

What would they do to her?

She'd never underestimate anyone, not even a young child, although she's not powerful like a Jounin, she certainly had some talents and a good sense of direction as well as aim.

But even those, she was not willing to show off, due to her being rather scared of others. She certainly wasn't used to making much contact with humans, wasn't it just this morning that she was chased by some children wanting to 'play' with the Angel?

Although they were children, she didn't want to 'play' with any of them, and there had been so many…and they were rather fast.

Just as she stood up an old woman came out, placing her rounded glasses on the bridge of her nose, she peered at the young girl in front of her, and gasped.

"Oh my! I'd never thought I'd see the day! An Angel! A **real** Angel!" The woman cried, she smiled happily, walking over cautiously to the girl, her arms stretched out towards her a little as if daring herself to touch the girl.

The girl didn't move, she noticed that the way the woman moved and spoke with that croaky throat of hers, gave the definite impression that the woman couldn't even defend herself possibly from the lowest ranked Ninja.

She let the woman place a hand upon her should, her orange eyes staring intently at what this old woman planned to do to her.

The old lady gasped at feeling the girl was real, before she was suddenly overcome with emotion, memories of her childhood dreams resurfaced and she pulled the girl into a gentle hug.

Though the Angel felt extremely uncomfortable, she didn't reject the older woman, whose hair was tied into a tight grey bun at the top of her head, wore a baggy brown dress, with an apron tied over and smelled of oranges.

The old man coughed, interrupting the spectacle and in hopes of ceasing his wife's blubbering.

The old woman pulled away slowly, wiping the corner of her eyes, she exclaimed "Oh! Keichi, she must stay with us!"

The young girl waved her arms in front of her and cried "Oh no! I'm alright, but thank you for your offer; you see…well, I'm searching for someone…"

The old woman must have detected the sad note in the young Angel's voice, for the old woman said "Well, you can at least stay with us for a few hours, you must be tired?"

The Angel sighed, knowing she wouldn't hear the end of it if she didn't stay for a little while, clearly they were lacking in company since there was no one else around for over a mile. She gave in and muttered "Okay, I'll stay for a little while."

The old woman squealed in delight, she went over to the old man and introduced him "This is my husband; Keichi and I am Satu, what is your name, dear?"

"I'm Kaida; it's nice to meet you both." The Angel replied swiftly, bowing her head a little in respect.

"Meaning; Little Dragon…hmm…doesn't suit you physically does it…ah well. It's still a lovely name." Satu replied with an eager smile, before she went back inside the tea shop stating "Have no fear, hun, I'll whip you something yummy to eat!"

"W-wait, I already...ordered..." Kaida's voice trailed off as she realised the woman had left out of ear-shot.

Kaida cleared her throat from where she was sat on the bench that was placed next to Keichi.

He seemed somewhat more relaxed and calm now-which made her feel a little more safe and secure, she now knew that they wouldn't try anything funny, they were just a harmless old couple, running a small tea shop, on the border between the Grass country and Fire country.

They seemed to have a nice life out here, with little worry of other's bothering them aside from the odd travelling customer and being submersed in nature. It sounded wonderful.

But extremely lonely...which reminded her of her own personal mission.

She sighed heavily feeling a little depressed, how long was it going to take?

How long would it take to search for and find her mother?

Of course she had a picture of her mother; the only thing she had that remained of the only being she once loved and lost. But she couldn't ask just **anyone** where her mother was or if they'd seen her around anywhere.

Who knew what sort of people there were around nowadays?

Being what she is, she'd often been on the run from other's trying to capture her or 'play' with her. The last thing she needed was to allow herself to walk straight into a trap.

Her white wings; as pure as the moon often caught attention and sometimes she wishes she knew how to at least hide them from others' sights. At least that way, she could blend into her surroundings a bit more easily.

The man brushed his trousers, picked up the broom leaning against the wall next to him and started sweeping along the ground.

"Where are you from missy?" he asked, it appeared that he too, was now interested.

Kaida didn't answer straight away; instead she sat there staring at the floor for some seconds, before she answered "I don't know."

He turned to face her slowly, his expression sceptical and his eyes shone with disbelief.

"Well, I can't remember, it was such a long time ago; I've been travelling ever since I can remember." She relented and answered almost truthfully.

It was only after she turned eight that her mother had abandoned her-no! Her mother didn't abandon her-she was just…busy elsewhere, she must've gotten injured on a mission all that time ago and couldn't return to help her daughter live comfortably.

It happened to many children a lot these days, there were plenty of orphans roaming streets; begging. Even so, the way her mother hadn't returned even after a year of being alone, it made her heart break and the sudden well of tears threatened to spill out again at the painful memory.

She was eventually found by an old ex-priest who-at the time, had to retire from his work after he'd gotten rheumatism in his hands and wrists, so he couldn't hold anything-let alone a bible properly in his hands when the pain was so bad.

He took her under his care, looking after her and feeding her, even going so far to continue to help her with her studies of learning to read and write.

Although she didn't see him as family, they'd both seen each other as companions and friends. Kaida had never had a friend aside from her mother before him.

But he died when she turned eleven, ever since then she'd travelled across many lands, through the skies, she'd learned how to defend herself, she trained relentlessly, hunted for food by herself, kept her hygiene at a reasonable standard and managed to keep dry and warm every night without little fuss.

Kaida felt mighty proud of herself, she'd managed to gather that independence and turn herself into someone mature and strong-willed, and had survived against the elements for almost six years on her own.

That child that'd been so helpless and useless was long-gone, though the same shyness and constant uncertainty still remained. It seemed some parts of her were difficult to shift even after so many years on her own.

"I see…and why do you travel?" Keichi asked as he continued sweeping, and just as Kaida was about to answer his question, Satu came out carrying a small tray with a cup of green tea and a small plate with sweet dumplings, biscuits and chocolates.

Satu placed the tray on the bench next to Kaida without hesitation, and she sat down on the end of the same bench, smiling at the Angel.

Kaida ate and drank in silence, it didn't bother her that the old couple were being very friendly, or were probably too curious for their own good. She guessed that they just wanted to speak to other people, instead of being stuck out in the middle of the road like they were, with no neighbours; it would be terrible if one of them took ill.

Where would they go?

"Why do you travel? Kaida-was it? Is it alright if I call you Angel?" Satu asked almost embarrassed for asking such a question, no doubt the Angel got enough grief from having those lovely pure wings of hers.

"Travelling is what I've been used to for a long time, it's also rewarding, I get to learn different cultures, see different festivals and meet different humans-"

"So you **are** an Angel!" The woman exclaimed whilst clapping her hands together in excitement.

Kaida bit her lip, then hesitantly she nodded her head slowly, oh how she hated it when humans got excited and jump around her, stating how much they've always wanted to fly, she hoped that Satu wouldn't ask if she could go flying.

That was the last thing she wanted to hear.

"I've always wanted to meet a real Angel," Satu mused aloud "I used to think when I was a child, that if I wished hard enough and I was good enough an Angel would come and visit me. That never happened obviously, but I never stopped believing…I always knew there was something like you out there, after all, this is a big world."

Satu smiled warmly at Kaida, making her feel rather uncomfortable again and slightly bad, but knew this was the human trick-first they'd bring out a sob story and then they'd get you to do what they want you to do.

Kaida finished her food, feeling relatively full; she decided it was time to leave and head onwards. She stood up and stated "I can't thank you enough for your kindness, but I have to leave now."

Satu stood up rather quickly, tears filling up in her eyes, she asked sadly "Must…must you really go so soon?"

"Satu! We can't keep her here, for one thing we don't have the room, and her wings are too big, because our shop is small. She'll knock things over, besides with all the strangers we get round here, it'll only be a matter of time before someone will come and want to steal her away! And we're too old to defend ourselves. We've worked hard to keep this place going and I don't mean any disrespect to you, missy, but I'm not prepared to have it thrown away to nothing." Keichi growled, he stood up straight, hands on his hips, determined to show he wasn't backing down.

Kaida smirked a little at the rather pathetic display of dominance, for one thing, he was old and a little flabby, what would have no doubt been a muscled and broad chest in his youth was nothing more than extra-fat. Of course, she didn't dare speak of such things aloud.

"He's right! Please don't put yourselves out for me, I can't stay here forever. But-ah!"

That caught their attention; they looked at her with curious looks, wondering what she was up too.

Kaida took her backpack off and started rummaging through it, searching for something, she smiled brightly when she finally got hold of it, and she pulled it out to show them a picture of her mother.

"Have you ever seen this woman?" She asked with a heavy heart, really hoping that they'd seen her recently or had just seen her period. She'd had very little luck in the last six years.

They both peered at the picture closely, their eyes squinting, but they both shook their heads and Satu answered "I'm sorry, Angel, but we haven't seen this woman at all, if we did it definitely wasn't recently, I can assure you of that."

Kaida's face fell considerably and she sighed heavily, placing the picture gently back in her bag.

Satu noticed this and murmured "But she is very beautiful, who is she? Your sister?"

Kaida blushed at such an assumption, feeling a little stung that they would think she was that old, but reminded herself that her mother had been quite young when she'd given birth to her and the picture had been taken almost eight years ago.

It wasn't their fault that they didn't know who the woman in the photo was.

"No, she's my mother." Kaida decided that sharing this one little bit of information couldn't hurt anybody. After all, the old couple had no one to tell being so far away from civilization.

She watched in mild amusement as their expressions returned to ones of shock.

Deciding her stay was now well overdue, she forced a smile and muttered "Thank you for your help anyway. I might see you both again someday."

Secretly, she didn't plan on it, she travelled around so much that she didn't have time to make friends.

Satu placed a hand up to her chest and felt her broach, with shaky hands she undid the broach and gave it to Kaida, smiling softly she said "Please, never forget us; I pray you will find what you are looking for Kaida-Angel. May we meet again once more before I pass on."

Kaida stared at the lovely broach in the shape of a tulip, it was the colour of the sun, and reminded Kaida of warmth, and home.

It reminded her of her mother.

Her mother loved flowers, especially making them out of paper.

Kaida nodded, her throat suddenly constricted at such a touching gift, it looked expensive and brought back many memories of the woman she was searching for.

Thanking Satu for the present, she placed her goggles over her eyes and before turning away from the old couple she waved a few times, then launched off into the air once they'd returned the waves.

She knew that finding her mother wasn't going to be easy, even after all this time, but she knew-she had a feeling deep inside herself that she knew her mother was safe and well.

And Kaida was going to find her no matter what it took.

* * *

**A/N: So there you have it for the edited first chapter, if you're new to this story then WELCOME! If not and are just re-reading it again, then WELCOME BACK! Anywho, please let me know of what you think of this version as I said, there isn't too much difference to the original, but it's more detailed. **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter Two EDITED

**EDITED ON: 11****th**** January 2013 **

**A/N: Here's another edited chapter, I decided to get another one done while I was in the mood, not entirely sure how often these will be updated, since I also have two other stories that need finishing as well, but I promise to do my best and get this editing part done so then I can focus on updating the story with a new chapter. Also, I forgot to mention it in the previous chapter, but THANK YOU to everyone that has reviewed already, I really do appreciate, it really means a lot and I hope more of you will continue to review in the future. I really don't want to give up on this story D:**

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned it, Akatsuki would rule and everyone **_**else**_** would die.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO:**

The breeze picked up as two figures stood high upon a statue over-looking a city of pipes, the sky was full of dark clouds, no doubt rain would threaten to overcome this city within an hour or so, as it usually did, the weather was always dim and nearly always raining.

After all, that's where the name of the village came from. The Rain village, it suited the weather and buildings perfectly.

The two figures, clad in dark cloaks, bearing red clouds upon them were the same two figures four days previous to when they'd assassinated a group of men whom wouldn't pay for their Akatsuki's services.

Pein was sat down on the tongue of a contorted face from the statue, which was one of the tallest creations within the Rain village, his hand rested on his bent knee near his chest; as he stared out emotionlessly at his city.

Konan stood a little behind him, silent as always, they both just watched.

They often did this for an hour or so each day, as if to re-assure themselves everything was going smoothly, it also made sure that if there was anyone bothering to enter the village without knowledge or permission, they'd be two of the first few that would know about it.

And as usual, it was calm.

There was nothing out of the ordinary, although this was a relief, it was often boring; it was rare anyone would dare enter their city and challenge them. It seemed that stray Ninja had learned long ago to stay away from countries that didn't like outsiders.

Ever since the assassination, they hadn't been bothered by Madara Uchiha again, which was rather unusual. It was a blessing in disguise; normally he would sometimes pop out from nowhere, sometimes twice a day, checking on them to make sure everything was going smoothly, it was very odd that he hadn't already turned up.

This made them uneasy; it was on rare occasions when he wanted to show his displeasure that he'd keep them waiting. Yet they guess that he was busy dealing with matters of his own elsewhere. After all, he was practically a stranger to them, even after working 'together' for so many years.

"Everything seems to be fine again." Konan murmured on a low sigh.

She hated not doing anything, it meant having time to think of the past, of things long gone and should've been forgotten about, yet lately, they kept resurfacing and she didn't want to remember, she didn't want to think any of it at all.

She'd managed to run away from the past for so long, dreading every second a knock came on her bedroom door and she feared it was going to chase her forever. One day, it may eventually catch up to her and expose her for what she really was.

A terrible mother.

She wouldn't let that thought go any further, Pein knew of her past or at least what she'd told him, what he didn't know was that her child was well and very much alive.

She'd guessed as much, it was a year after abandoning the pathetic creature that she'd sent some of her paper butterflies to return and double-check, to make sure it was dead, but she'd been proven wrong.

The brat was still alive; at least it had been up until six years ago when it'd disappeared after the death of that old ex-priest.

Ever since, she'd been questioning whether the brat had been killed or sold into slavery, quite frankly, she didn't care which.

She'd so far managed to keep her secret between herself and Pein. He never brought it up, since he knew the topic made her unhappy. She was very thankful for such a considerate friend, it made her wonder if he thought any less of her.

After all, they're lovers...of sorts, and her child…wasn't planned.

Some men didn't like women that were already tainted, especially women who'd already had children.

She'd become a mother at an early age, but had abandoned her child once it'd turned eight, Konan left to follow Pein, she joined the Akatsuki and never looked back once.

She never wanted to see her child again, she hoped the child was dead, it would put it out of its misery, in fact, she should've killed it herself when she had the chance, but just didn't have the heart to do such a thing.

It reminded her of when she'd been a child, Konan had been with her two friends, growing up and trying to survive during a war, they'd only had each other and had come to brush with death many times.

So even though she was cruel enough to abandon it, she wasn't so evil as to kill the thing she'd birthed out of dislike. Instead, she'd abandoned it and let fate decide whether it should live or die. She sincerely hoped it was the latter.

Konan couldn't have stayed with the child any longer than she had, it'd grown too curious, too knowledgeable, too forward and very much innocent, and she knew deep down it'd ask questions sooner or later.

She couldn't risk her secrets and Akatsuki's secrets being revealed to such a nosey brat.

She couldn't bear it, she broke down, and then one evening, she told Pein everything, but she'd twisted reality a little and said that the child had disappeared-when really it was at home sleeping by a nice warm fire; unaware of any ill-will.

Konan went on to say she felt she'd failed at raising her child, and that she couldn't take it any longer, she wanted to forget.

She wanted to forget **everything**.

And Pein, her friend, her lover...of sorts, had reached out to her, and promised her that he'd take her away. He'd take her far away from reality, he'd be with her always, he'd help her to forget, help her move forward and all she had to do was swear allegiance with him.

She didn't hesitate in her answer.

And she never once regretted her decision.

She still didn't, as long as she and Pein were together forever, she'd carry on forgetting reality, living in a world, built just for herself and her friend, whilst cowering away from the truth.

Pein, as if sensing her thoughts, looked over his shoulder at Konan with curious grey-ringed eyes; she seemed to be staring at the floor, deep in thought, hardly noticing that he was watching her intently.

"Konan, what are you thinking?" He asked the question quietly, but it was enough to snap her awake from her thoughts, and she looked at him with worried eyes.

He stared at her patiently, waiting for her to explain.

"I…I just remembered something…" she answered; somewhat dazed as if doing such a thing was foreign to her.

She had a feeling he knew what she'd 'remembered' so suddenly, but for some reason she didn't care, she felt compelled to think over the situation more, and now for the first time in so many years she actually wondered where was her child now?

Was it dead as she'd often prayed it would be?

"Konan."

She looked up after hearing the warning note in his voice.

Pein who'd stood up without her realising it, stared at her with those daunting grey eyes of his, he stood against a back-drop that made him look even more like the God that he was believed to be.

And she was his Angel, even if she didn't have real wings, she still had wings she could create from paper, and what made her most happy, was that she had no competition. It'd been just the two of them for so long, and she had a good feeling that it would remain so for many years to come.

She smiled slowly to herself, her mind truly was wondering away from the objective at hand, they were here to watch over the village, to make sure everything was kept in order.

She coughed lightly, nodding her head, she apologised and then walked to his side, where she would always remain, she would not dawdle on the past.

What was done was done, nothing could change that.

And she was more than happy to go on and live in her own little world for the rest of her life, running away from the truth as much as possible, she didn't want to remember.

To remember would be the ultimate punishment that could possibly be subjected to her.

But she needed to remember she was alive and had a life, she was here for her God, her lover, her best friend; Pein.

Appeased, he faced his village with an air of noble contentment about himself, he looked and acted like the God he was, and how she loved him for it, and how much the people of his city respected him.

Pein was a very outstanding figure of such beauty and intelligence, that Konan almost felt a little dirty whenever she was in his presence.

He watched the birds fly up above the many buildings, towards the darkening clouds, such a scene almost made him forget about what his ultimate goal was. Almost.

The scenery to him was beautiful, and he would always watch it every day, making sure not to miss a moment of it, he often wondered if the scenery would ever change, would it always be dark and dismal?

Although he loved this city, he often longed for a little ray of sunshine to part those depressing clouds.

Suddenly, a flash of something that looked like a huge bird shot through the clouds up above, and caught his steady gaze.

He was surprised for a moment, wondering if his eyes were seeing things, birds certainly don't come that big unless they're summoned. Which would mean that an intruder was in their midst and would need dealing with.

He sent a hard glare up towards the sky wondering how the intruder had managed to slip in without his knowledge.

Granted, he always used his rain jutsu to help him locate any outsiders trespassing, yet he knew too much rain would saturate the already too-wet earth. He'd already had many complaints in the past at how the rain and mud created such mess and trouble.

Konan stared at him, she'd sensed his uneasiness, the rising tension, the angry flare in his eyes, she saw him staring at the clouds, and she looked up too, wondering what he was looking at with such intensity.

At first she couldn't see anything-save the gloomy clouds, yet after a couple of minutes, she finally saw what Pein's hard gaze was fixed on.

She drew in a shaky breath as she felt her body tremble, it couldn't be…

The 'bird' swooped low, and she noticed the figure to be female and taller than any child she'd previously abandoned, Konan let out a heavy sigh of relief, but then something else made her tense.

Could it be..?

It _had_ been almost eight years since she'd abandoned the brat; naturally, it would've done some maturing during that time.

She stared at the figure hovering round in circles from above, the wings were huge and beautiful and definitely real, but what shocked her more was that there were only two possible creatures in this world that she could possibly think of that has wings like that.

And she never wanted to see the both of them ever again.

The figure suddenly swooped down in such speed that Konan could barely keep her eyes focused on whoever or whatever it was before she knew it, the figure shot straight towards them.

Pein readied himself to defend them both against the intruder.

That is, until the figure whom was flying at great speeds already, dodged the black staff-like weapon Pein threw at her and she shot at Konan.

Konan who'd still been submerged in her panicked thoughts didn't realise the 'danger' until she'd been grabbed into a tight hug. Both figures were propelled backwards by and into the wall behind herself, she let out a faint cry when her back connected against the wall sharply.

A few seconds passed in silence, Pein stood to the side, his eyes wide and amazed, he, for once, was left speechless.

Konan let out a small moan, shaking her head slowly, she looked down at what she now recognised, was a young girl, clinging to her in such strength, it almost stopped her from breathing properly.

A fear curled up and flared through Konan's system, this girl…she had the wings alright…she had the same hair colour as herself, and no doubt had those same piercing orange eyes like her father.

She knew now that it was none other than…

"Mother! I've finally found you! After all this time! I've found you!" The girl; Kaida cried excitedly as her own happiness flowed through her. Relief seeped into her tired wings and bones, and she wanted to weep with the intensity of her emotions and how long it'd taken to search for her mother, only to find her next door to where she'd been searching all this time.

So many days and nights had her determination almost wavered and now, finally she had results!

Konan stared with wide eyes down at girl, hardly believing that this was really happening.

Meanwhile, Pein watched on in bewilderment, noticing the likeness of both females, they both shared the same coloured skin and almost the same colour hair, the girl's hair was just a few shades darker than her mother's. They were also nearly the same height, except the girl was just a couple of inches shorter.

However, he was more shocked that there was such a specimen in this world with **real** wings, like an Angel.

It set to confuse him, he hadn't realised that such beings actually existed, he thought Konan was the closest thing to Angel as there could ever be.

Obviously, he was wrong.

Konan gulped, noticing the shock, awe and confusion on Pein's face and knew she'd have some explaining to do.

Yes. It was none other than her own daughter, in the flesh and _alive_.

* * *

**A/N: To be honest, I'm thinking this edited version was a lot better than the original, let me know what you think!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Faze Three

_**Faze Three:**_

_Kaida was sat in an oak chair, in what she took as an office, she couldn't really see through the darkness of the room, so she didn't judge what the room looked like._

_She could just about make out the figures of her mother whom was stood opposite her, behind a huge oak desk and that man who her mother was with, he was sat in a leather chair behind the desk also._

_The blinds at the windows were closed, leaving very little light to shine through and into the room._

_Kaida was later informed that he was called Pein, he was a 'God', and the leader of the Rain village, and at first he demanded for her to fight him for trespassing in his domain, but after she'd stated that she'd been searching for her mother all this time, he backed off._

_The reason for that?_

_She'd shown him the picture of what Konan looked like a year before she'd left Kaida and had, unbeknownst to her joined the Akatsuki._

_The picture had set a completely different motion to her story, for he strongly believed her, no one has ever gotten a photo of Konan before, and very few people outside of the Rain village know what she looks like._

_It wasn't a lie._

"_You say that you're Konan's daughter?" Pein asked, still rather surprised of the circumstances that happened earlier, for there he was with his partner, looking over his village, breathing in the musky air, staring at the wondrous view, just relaxing and then something just __**had**__ to occur now of all times, when Madara could easily pop out of nowhere._

_Kaida's eyes narrowed somewhat and she stated with a determined voice "Yes, Konan is my mother, that picture is her. I've had it ever since she'd had it taken."_

_Pein looked at his partner, she was stood next to him silently, her eyes downcast, sad._

_He knew it was hard for her to see her daughter again, but there was possibly no way to get Kaida out of the village, especially if she'd been travelling for so long to find her mother_

"_Is she your daughter Konan?" He asked calmly, allowing her time to answer, she looked up from the floor from where she was stood to Kaida who was sat in a chair opposite her, staring at her with those innocent orange eyes that reminded her too much of the past._

_Konan lifted her gaze to meet his and she answered silently "Yes."_

* * *

"_Madara will be here very soon, what shall we do with her?" Pein questioned aloud, more to himself than anyone else._

_Indeed, what would Madara do if he found, what could only be described as an Angel sat in their presence, perfectly calm and relaxed._

_Konan was stood silently next to him, she hadn't said a word throughout all that had occurred, her whole being felt numb and tired, she could hardly believe what'd happened to her, she couldn't come to terms that her daughter was here, that she was alive, here, and…grown up._

_Kaida was sat on the tongue of the contorted face of the statue overlooking the village just as Pein had done earlier that day, her beautiful white wings appeared to shine in a hazy glow that transfixed around them._

_Some little white birds that had similar coloured wings to her own were hopping around her, chirping away, one of them had rested upon her right hand, they were shockingly very tame around her, making Pein wonder about her abilities._

_For a start the Akatsuki could use someone with real wings who could most likely travel more efficiently and if was sent on missions or errands, could most likely fulfil them twice as fast as Deidara could on his huge clay bird._

_She seemed to be able to have some sort of communication with birds, and that could come in handy for tracking, and the huge axe with the short handle hadn't gone unnoticed, it was rested upon her backpack, it looked very heavy, she had some agility and strength._

_All added bonuses in his opinion, indeed, they could use someone like that._

"_We'll keep her."_

_Konan gasped at the statement, her head turned to face Pein in shock, she couldn't believe he'd said that, it just wasn't possible, Pein had promised to take her away from her daughter, help her forget everything that'd happened._

_And now he was going against his promise to her, she didn't know which was worse, the fact that her daughter had shown up, or that Pein had just broken his only promise to her._

"_She could be a good asset to the Akatsuki, we need someone with her speed, agility and strength, someone whom has __**real**__ wings to fly faster than possibly anyone else on this planet." Pein explained calmly, still watching Konan's daughter with hinted interest._

_He wondered what Madara would make of her._

"_I have to disagree, she could be an impostor, how can we know for sure if that's really my 'child'? She couldn't join us anyway, Madara doesn't need any more members and he's been scheming away for so long, I don't think he's going to throw all his plans away for one little girl." Konan stated coldly, she glared at her daughter, feeling the rush of hate and disgust funnelling up within her._

"_She's staying, whether Madara wants her to or not, she doesn't have to become a __**member**__, she can be a subordinate, perhaps to us, she'd be very useful, if I have any information or objects that need delivering within a certain amount of time, I'm pretty sure she could finish that more efficiently than anyone else." Pein grumbled under his breath, Kaida didn't need to hear what they were discussing, she didn't need to know anything, she only needed to do whatever he told her to do and she'd be alright._

_Of course he didn't mean to deliberately hurt Konan and betray her trust, but he knew that there was no one else like Kaida in all of the countries, she was very rare._

_And because of that, she'd be highly recommended to use her skills within the Akatsuki. _

_And he was most certain that Madara would see it that way as well, for there was no one else that had __**real**__ wings._

_Konan huffed to herself, she wanted her daughter gone, away from her as far as possible, although these were selfish thoughts, she couldn't deny her true feelings, she never wanted to be a young mother, she never wanted any children._

_But it did happen, and now she was going to regret that until the day she dies._

"_Think about it Konan…" A deep voice murmured from behind them, and they knew without having to turn around that it was Madara, for someone of his type he'd managed to keep his chakra hidden completely, it almost made Konan shiver at how skilled the old Uchiha really was, though she wasn't about to test it out._

"_You don't have to love her…that's what pretence is all about, pretend to be her mother, win her over with her trust, and then we can use her in anyway possible, she'd be a valuable advantage to us." Madara smirked, whilst staring at the back of the young girl, smiling, giggling and talking to the small birds, her innocence and purity almost made him want to crush and rip her wings off, though that could be saved for later…if she ever betrays them that is…he'd have marvellous fun in 'clipping' her wings so that she never flies ever again._

_Konan frowned, she didn't like this idea, she didn't like the fact that Madara was practically waving it in her face that he wanted to use her daughter-the child she'd left years ago, so it could have a better life, was going to get caught up in the Akatsuki after all. _

_It seemed that even trying to protect her only child from far away didn't even help._

_She'd failed as a mother, not only that, but she was a cruel mother to abandon her child for so long._

"_I won't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do, she's a free being-"_

"_She's an Angel. And she's __**your**__ daughter." Madara corrected her with hinted amusement etched in his cold voice, but what Konan had just said had shown a completely different view on the situation, could is be possible that deep down beneath that cruel and harsh exterior she actually felt those maternal instincts towards her daughter?_

_Never the less, this worked out well for all of them._

_Kaida wants to be with her mother, Konan wants to secretly protect her daughter, Pein wants Kaida's abilities and Konan to trust him, and Madara wanted them all to play along with his plans._

_Having a subordinate ready and waiting for when another member eventually 'bites the dust' so to speak, then she'd be a perfect replacement, but that was after much training and studies._

_He wanted this Angel with an intense rage that he was all but ready to kill Konan and Pein to get to her, but that would be reckless, pointless and a waste of time._

_He'd get Konan and Pein to do all the work for him, and all he'd have to do is wait at the sidelines, watching, waiting for the perfect opportunity._

"_She __**will**__ join us, or __**I**__ will make her. Your choice, but I want you both to introduce her to the other members and once over, start training her, she's your subordinate now, and she needs the proper training to be like one." Madara commanded before disappearing behind them without so much as a sound._

_They both relaxed visibly, and Pein looked at Konan calmly and asked "Are you going to ask her, or am I to do it?"_

_Konan stared up at him, he already knew that answer, he nodded and backed away a couple of steps, allowing Konan to take her time and speak to her daughter._

_If Madara wanted her to pretend to care about her daughter she'd do that, she could manage that, and she knew deep down that they did need her abilities, her paper wings and Deidara's clay birds were no match for her speed in the skies, for hers were the real-deal._

_Konan took a deep breath, and walked calmly to her daughter, she paused however when she got right behind Kaida, looking over her shoulder she saw that Pein had disappeared, so, he'd been understanding enough to allow her time to herself, to come to terms and do this in her own way…_

"_Mum? Something wrong?" _

_Konan turned and looked down at the face of her beautiful daughter that was suddenly interested in her well-being._

_She cleared her throat, better to be stern and show her you mean business, Konan thought wisely._

"_I need to tell you something…" She began, but her voice failed her, she wondered if she was truly ready for taking this huge step in asking her child to join them in one of the most wanted organizations possible, but knew there was no way back._

_After all, it could be considered Kaida's fault, if she hadn't shown up, Madara and Pein wouldn't have wanted her to join so much, she could live life without having to know what her mother really was; a murderess, a wanted criminal and a terrible mother._

_Kaida waited, staring at her with those innocent bright eyes of hers, wondering what could be causing her mother so much distress._

"_Kaida, have you ever heard of the Akatsuki?" Konan started off, she hoped the girl had, cause then it'd make explaining so much easier than it needed to be, and then that would mean she wouldn't have to talk to her for a long time._

_Kaida frowned slightly, she looked away from her mother and up at the clouds, watching the birds, she thought intensely before answering "Yes, I've heard briefly about them, they're criminals wanted in every country right? And they're wearing similar cloaks…to yours…and that man's….."_

_Kaida jumped up into the air, and flew away from Konan, suddenly afraid, hurt and unsure of her decision now to be with her mother._

"_Kaida…yes, I am part of the Akatsuki, I have been for many years-"_

"_When were you going to __**tell**__ me about this?! I can't believe it! All this time I thought you'd been seriously injured, and that you couldn't make it back to me, or you'd gotten amnesia or something like that-a complete accident! Wait…did they force you to join? You don't have to be apart of them mum-let's get away! We can-"_

_Konan glared at Kaida, as she started rambling on about the perfect family unit, where they could live, what they could do together, and even what they could eat for dinner._

"_Quiet! I was __**not**__ forced to join, I came here of my own free will. Think what you like if it comforts you any, but I am talking to you now out of business, a proposition, well, more like a sentence. Kaida, you're being asked to join the Akatsuki and become a subordinate-to whom has yet been undecided. But you will work for us, and we will train you to become stronger than you are now. You will one day be worthy to fill a space in case any of the other members die. Think carefully of your answer." Konan muttered the last part, and stared coldly, whilst watching Kaida's shocked face taking all that in._

_Kaida slowly floated down onto the tongue once more, where she was originally sat, shocked and speechless. She didn't know what to do._

_Konan melded a paper katana in the sleeve of her cloak, nearing her daughter silently, she waited for an answer, depending on her answer depended between life and death._

"She **will **join us, or **I **will make her." _Madara's words shot through her mind in a flash, making her realise that she couldn't kill Kaida, she had to back down. _

_And she did._

_The paper katana dispersed and disappeared silently and unnoticeably within her cloak, Kaida hardly noticing anything out of the ordinary, this sudden thought made Konan wonder if her daughter could manipulate paper like she could, the idea intrigued her, and also annoyed her, but it would be nice to finally have someone appreciate her abilities, for she was sure that Kaida hadn't ever seen her mother use paper for fighting, and if Kaida could manipulate paper, it wouldn't be at Konan's level, she'd show her daughter the means to control the art of origami._

"_I have no choice?" Kaida asked dazed, she was still sat there staring at the floor with sad eyes._

_Konan nodded and muttered "That is how it is."_

"_T-then…I guess I have no other option but to join…" Kaida said numbly from her position._

_For years she'd thought of her mother as the beautiful fighter and caring but calm role model, she'd always attained to become exactly like her mother, she wanted to be her._

_But now…discovering that her mother was part of the most wanted and dangerous organization ever existed almost made her stomach turn, and she no longer wanted to be like her mother._

_Her mother was a liar…a cold-hearted being…she never came back for her daughter, because she simply didn't want her, her mother didn't want her…_

_Didn't want her._

_Kaida felt the tears fill up and spill from her eyes, she brought her knees up to her chest, and sobbed silently, knowing that she couldn't leave now._

_She almost wished she'd never bothered to find her mother, she'd just wasted all this time searching for her, and it was all for nothing. And now she was being made to join the same organization that stole her lovely mother away from her._

_She wanted no part in this, but she had little choice._

_Konan stood over her and watched her quietly as she sobbed, it seemed that she'd come to a conclusion on her own about what she thought of her mother, and on that thought, Konan turned away from Kaida, and as she walked away, uncaring, she muttered quietly "You should never have come searching for me…"_

* * *

_All of the other seven members of the Akatsuki appeared one by one in their virtual forms, all of them annoyed and surprised by the sudden announcement of being called for a meeting._

"_Heh, been a long time! Can't say I've missed you guys." A huge man wielding an equally large sword upon his back greeted them, his smirk was easy to catch within the quiet, yet damp cave._

"_Who cares? Let's just get this over with, I don't want to be kept waiting anymore." A deeper voice that came from a small, hunched form spoke opposite from the other._

_It was a few moments later of silence, that three more virtual figures appeared, the members became serious, awaiting to hear the news of what their Leader had wanted to call them for. _

"_Welcome, it's been a while hasn't it?" Pein murmured casually, sounding rather bored, as if his mind was on something else, indeed it was._

"_Seven years…" Another large man, with bright green eyes spoke up, as if needing to make the statement clear, for it had been that many years, some of the older members felt the length of time had gone on for too long, but, at least they were here now._

"_Enough of the pleasantries, I've called you all here for two reasons. The first one being that the search for the tailed beasts shall now continue once more, now is the best time to search for them, we've been quiet for too long. Get them whenever you can, and we will then extract them from their 'containers'. Second, I have someone I'd like you all to meet…" Pein's voice trailed off and his hand rested on the shoulder of a much smaller, female form that was stood next to him, but with a pair of something peculiar coming from her back._

_All the members peered at her, squinting, sizing the new figure up, and they were all immediately confused and wondered why their Leader had brought such a young person to their much delayed meeting of seven years._

"_Pfft! What the fuck? You brought a little kid here? I swear you're fucking crazy!" A man with intense violet eyes snarled, whilst placing his arms behind his head in a laid-back manner that indicated boredom and disinterest._

"_This had better be a good reason for you to waste my time." The small man from earlier with that very deep, creepy voice spoke up again, he sounded impatient._

"_This, is Kaida, she is an __**Angel**__." Pein stated calmly, despite the irritable moods that all the men were currently in, he needed to make sure that none of them tried anything funny with her, because of Madara's deep interest in her._

_That caught their attention, and they remained silent until the man with the violet eyes laughed out loud again "Ha! You really __**are**__ crazy! That's a good one, so why'd you really bring her here?"_

"_She is an Angel. These are her wings." Pein pointed down to the two ominous, huge objects sticking out from her back, it was only when the violet-eyed man laughed once more, that Kaida flexed her wings outwards, surprising all the other men, and managed to stop the man from laughing at her, they realised that she was controlling them of her own free-will and with little ease._

_Her piercing orange eyes looked up sharply, she glared at all the men around her, and she knew immediately that they were all arseholes, and that she didn't want anything to do with them._

_The men stared at her in 'awe', and now a red-eyed man spoke up from his corner, his voice held calm amazement in it "Where did you find such a specimen?"_

_Kaida glared at him, but Pein spoke up before she could tell him where to get off, "Actually, she flew over to myself and Konan, speaking of which, I would like to also introduce you to Konan's only child. Her daughter."_

_There was silence again, until a man with a high ponytail and one visible eye asked in confusion "Where?" _

_Kaida giggled lightly to herself, despite where she was, and whose presence she was in, she had to admit, they were possibly the most easiest of people to wind up and the most challenging to make fun of, both of which she was sure she'd have great amusement in doing._

"_Right here!" Leader shouted at the other man in annoyance as he pointed to Kaida once more._

"_Holy fucking shit. Who knew you got knocked up Konan?" The violet eyed man started roaring in laughter again, Konan looked down, feeling somewhat ashamed and sad, before Pein, noticing Konan's mood, bellowed at him to shut his mouth, which was immediately complied._

"_Anyway, Kaida here is a subordinate to us now, so she is a part of this organization, I suggest you don't hurt her in anyway, for you won't have just me to answer too." The statement held an underlying threat to it, that hadn't gone unnoticed by any of them and with that Pein, Konan and Kaida disappeared from the dark and damp cave._

"_Hmm…what's the betting that Kaida isn't Leader's daughter?" The man with bright green eyes spoke again, more business-like, he seemed rather interested in the young girl now that she'd left._

"_Ah-shut it Kakuzu, you and your money-talk, it pisses me off!" The violet-eyed man whined loudly, before they too disappeared._

"_A real Angel…hmm…sounds interesting…" The red-eyed man muttered calmly to himself, before he and the huge man with the equally large sword disappeared from the cave._

_The man with the high ponytail glared at where the red-eyed man stood, the envy and hate making itself clear, before his short partner growled "Come on, Deidara, I've been kept waiting too long!" _

"_Yeah-yeah!" He answered annoyed, and they too disappeared, following the disappearance of the last member, the tallest one of them, with something weird around his body._

"_This sounds…__**interesting**__…" And he too disappeared whilst chuckling to himself._


	4. Faze Four

_**Faze Four:**_

_It was the next morning._

_Kaida was up early and was ready for the day, she even had enough time to fly around in the skies to stretch her wings, which she knew would be important if she were to stay on her guard around her mother and the strange man._

_It was only when she saw Pein and her mother appear down below on the statue that she flew down to them, and landed in front of them._

_They were both poised and ready for the day, and Kaida almost felt like sticking her tongue out at them in a childish manner to prove that she didn't care for them hardly at all._

"_Good morning, today I am to see your techniques and what you've learned so far."_

_Pein stated in a tone that meant she was definitely not allowed to back out of it and she frowned slightly._

"_But of course I'm too powerful to fight you, and I'd kill you within a minute, so I've went to the trouble to ask one of the members to help out in your…'initiation'." He continued, feeling rather proud about his decision in having her fight against Deidara._

_Deidara was a long-range fighter, a worthy adversary indeed, a challenge, but judging by Kaida's huge axe, Pein got the impression she was a close-range fighter, or perhaps both?_

_Maybe she could adjust to whatever range her opponents fighting range was?_

_Kaida nodded slowly and asked calmly "Who am I fighting?"_

_Pein smirked, he was even more than eager to see her skills when she had no objection, she was about to face one of the Akatsuki, one of the elite criminals, wanted in every country and in the Bingo book, there she was standing there calmly asking whom her opponent was._

_He had to admire her sense of control and determination, but he wondered what her reaction would be once she'd face Deidara in an actual battle._

* * *

_Deidara was waiting in a forest on the border of the Rain village, it's taken him most of yesterday and the whole night to get here, but Pein had explicitly stated that he needed a long range fighter, and knew that Sasori was out of the question._

_Sasori was ruthless, and despite that being needed in the battle, the problem there was when Sasori fought, he intended to kill._

_Whether Kaida was Konan's daughter or Pein's daughter, Sasori wouldn't hesitate in killing her, and that, Pein knew couldn't be allowed, Madara would personally kill Sasori, Pein and Konan for allowing such things to occur, though no one barely knew of Madara's existence._

_Deidara sighed, he was sure annoyed that at the last minute he had to be called to test out the little girls' skills._

"_Itachi seemed interested, hmm, why not him, hmm?" Deidara muttered to himself, bored with the waiting._

_He'd been sat there for seven hours, two of which he'd had a snooze, needing to regain some of his sleep and strength, he had a feeling that this was going to be a waste of his time._

_He fiddled with more clay, adding more and more to the mouths on his hands, making them work almost overtime by making little birds and spiders, ready for the battle, after all, there was nothing wrong with pre-battle materials._

_He was just getting ready, he certainly wasn't cheating, cheating was when you kicked the opponent between the legs, or when you bitch-slapped them._

_Deidara smirked, and began chuckling to himself when he remembered the time when he fought against Itachi Uchiha and kicked __**him**__ between the legs._

_Despite Deidara still losing in the battle, it did work to his advantage for a short amount of time._

_Deidara sat up straight, his face turned serious when he felt three presences of chakra approaching himself, he knew who they belonged too, and sat there on the rock, leaning his left elbow over his left leg, staring into the forest with a bored expression._

_The first to appear was Konan, she looked unemotional as usual, next was Pein, naturally he looked stern and unsympathetic, and last but not least, the young 'girl' he had been confused with, now looked liked a proper, young, beautiful lady that so happened to be an Angel._

_He gawked at her shining white wings, at first envy rushed through him, but then admiration and excitement bubbled up within him, and he smirked loudly at how childish he felt._

_He, himself loved flying, he'd never dare to ask Konan to fly with him, because she was too stern and much older than he was to want to have a race to see which was better-paper or clay._

_But now he had a younger, more relaxed girl whom was the real thing, and he had a feeling, just by looking at the yellow goggles upon her head, that she loved flying as much as he did, possibly more._

"_About time, yeah! I was getting hungry, hmm." Deidara stated finally feeling the strain he'd put on his body just to get here in time and wait for them to arrive, he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning and was feeling the usual rumble that signified he needed food._

_Konan let out a impatient sigh, whilst Kaida just stared at him, a little smile forming upon her face, he was the joker and the cocky one she could tell, and she was really looking forward to sparring with him._

_Instead Pein stated "You can have something to eat afterwards, Deidara, right now I want you to fight Kaida and test her skills, and please don't kill her." Pein stated, before pushing Kaida forward with one hand placed on her back, he looked at Konan, they both nodded towards each other and disappeared in smoke._

_Kaida looked round to where they were, she felt helpless, and didn't really understand what she was supposed to do, the least they could've done was introduced them to each other._

_Would they come back for her? Or would she have to find her way back again?_

_This was getting too confusing._

_She heard Deidara sigh in boredom from in front of her and he muttered "This is a waste of time, hmm…"_

_She sent a small glare at him as she turned round to face him and said "It's like I hardly want to be here myself!"_

_That caught his attention, and he smirked again, looking at her properly this time, she looked no older than…seventeen perhaps?_

_And she was spirited, he'd certainly have fun with her._

"_So you're the famous Kaida that is a real Angel and the one that Itachi is interested in, hmm, okay, I believe the Angel part, yeah, but I just can't believe Itachi liking a creature like you, hmm." Deidara stated as if it were a true fact._

"_I don't even know who this __**Itachi**__ is, and I certainly don't really care at the moment. And what is wrong with 'a creature like me'?" Kaida felt the unusual rush of anger flare up within her, it seemed that the stress of her being forced to join the stupid Akatsuki, even as a subordinate made her stomach turn and her immunity to annoying people fall considerably._

"_There's nothing wrong with you, hmm, you're beautiful, yeah, just exactly like an Angel __**should**__ be, un." Deidara answered on a small sigh, as he knew what he said was really true, and that was what surprised him the most._

_Kaida blushed lightly, she'd never received any types of compliments from men before, and although she liked it, she didn't want to form any attachments to the criminals in the organization "That's not true. I don't see why everyone feels they should call me an Angel. I'm not, if I didn't have the wings then I wouldn't be considered anything but human."_

"_But you're not human, hmm, you have something very rare, something no one else has, yeah, you are special, hmm." The sound in his voice, made her look back at him, and she felt that she could detect a bit of envy in it, but decided to ignore it and re-focus on the 'fight' they were supposed to be having._

_She unhooked her huge axe from her back-having already settled down in an apartment next door to Pein's office, she'd left her backpack behind and was now free to carry her axe by itself._

_She dropped it onto the ground carelessly, as it made contact with the ground a huge shudder ran through the earth, Deidara felt the tremor from where he was sat, and once the dust cleared from the axe he could see it'd left a huge hole in the ground._

_Kaida smiled sweetly at him, which almost made him forget for a moment of what he really was there for, until she asked "Are you ready?"_

_He snapped wide awake, when she lowered herself, and swooped the axe up in her hand with little ease, and came at him through the air, just a little off the ground._

_She came at him in such speed, he almost got hit by the axe as it swooped past him, almost a couple of centimetres from his face._

_Deidara retreated backwards instantly, deeper into the forest, as she swung her axe at him, her speed and strength surprising him all the more as she was still carrying the axe._

_It was only when his back hit against an oak tree that Kaida lifted the axe, aiming to cut him from his right shoulder and across, he ducked to the side, her axe went into the tree, and was stuck there for a moment._

_She looked at him as he quickly pulled a small bird from his pouch at his side where all his clay was kept, dropping it as he jumped high into the air, it turned into a huge bird, taking off the ground, Deidara landed on it as he fell down._

_The bird flew up into the sky, way above the trees, Kaida stared in amazement, a smile breaking out onto her face for real, at least he was speaking her language, she found it much more easier to fight in the air and she definitely liked how he'd adjusted to fighting in the air without real wings to carry him._

_She ripped the axe from the tree as Deidara circled above in the air, Kaida launched up into the air in such great speed that she appeared just like a blur, Deidara smirked loudly as she floated opposite him, holding the axe in her right hand._

"_You're quite skilled, hmm, especially in close combat, would never have guessed that with the wings, yeah, but the axe is a dead give-away, hmm." Deidara exclaimed, as he pulled out his hands from his pouches at his sides, from there four small, clay birds flew over at Kaida, quickly she put the axe on her back and pulled her yellow goggles over her eyes, as her wings flapped down and she shot up higher into the air, the little birds were fast, but couldn't keep up with her._

_She swooped around in the air a little, keeping her distance until suddenly her wings stopped working, she fell through the sky fast, Deidara panicked a little, he wondered if something had gone wrong and whether he should intervene, for Pein had stated that he didn't want her dead._

_But when he saw her head face towards the oncoming birds, he knew she was okay and was doing it deliberately. _

_Deidara readied for them to explode, and just as she went through the birds he made the hand-sign quickly and called out "Katsu!"_

_But to his surprise her wings had collided with them, whilst she went to the ground the broken birds exploded behind her, forcing her closer to the ground from the intense heat of the explosion._

_Deidara hissed in annoyance, but had to admit that was a clever trick she pulled in order to make it seem like she was injured to fool her enemy, but it was certainly very risky, for without the right time and precision, she could've been fried by now._

_Kaida swooped from the ground and went up into the air, she drew three kunai and quickly attached explosive tags onto them, as she flew through the air, she aimed and threw them into Deidara's bird, and before he could react the tags exploded, Kaida smiled in triumph, thinking she'd won, but her mood swiftly changed when she saw that the three small explosions had caused his own huge bird to explode._

_A massive explosion of multi-colours lightened the sky, Kaida was blown away by the sheer force of the huge explosion and almost fell into the trees below had she not remembered how to flap her wings._

_When she looked up in dismay, the smoke came afterwards, and she then began to panic thinking that she'd actually killed him unintentionally, no one could survive that explosion._

_Whilst Kaida was caught in the middle of her thoughts of sadness and worry, she faintly heard something moving through air from behind herself, looking over her shoulder she saw Deidara flying towards her upon his bird once more, unharmed, and had kunai drawn ready to attack her._

_She sighed in relief but quickly did hand-signs, it was a Genjutsu, and Deidara noticed at once what it was, he saw the pearl feathers fall slowly from the sky, surrounding him on his bird, and he knew that if he didn't do something quick, he'd end up falling asleep._

_Deidara made the easy hand-sign he'd learned back at his academy, and muttered "Release."_

_The Genjutsu dispelled and no longer worked on him, which hardly surprised Kaida, for she was expecting as much from a highly skilled opponent._

_She circled around him as he followed her, she frowned, he smirked, and still the chase continued._

_That was until she stopped dead-still in the air, doing quick hand-signs, she muttered "Air-Style; Hurricane jutsu!" _

_Kaida took a deep breath, and as Deidara flew head on to meet her, she exhaled her breath, whilst doing this a massive force of wind smacked against him and his bird, it knocked the breath out of him, it was just as powerful as a hurricane, and was so powerful that Deidara knew he either had to pull back or accept that he would fall off._

_Deciding that he didn't want the latter, he retreated and allowed the wind to push his bird backwards as far as possible._

_This led to a high disadvantage for the both of them, for now Deidara couldn't fight her without blowing her to pieces and Kaida couldn't cut him in half with her axe._

_It amazed him and yet didn't to know that she was a wind-type chakra user, for one, Konan didn't have wind-type chakra, and for another wind-type chakra users are very rare, though it was hardly surprising since she could fly._

_Kaida sighed but quickly flapped her wings and shot up into the air, Deidara's bird followed quickly after her, not seeming to give her any time to form anymore hand signs or hide._

_She swooped around in circles, before flying higher, then flew straight down and landed onto Deidara's bird, he hesitated for a moment, barely accepting that she'd just managed to get onto his bird so easily._

_He ground his teeth together, and jumped at her with his kunai, aiming to cut her, Kaida grabbed her axe and both metal clashed in-between them, it was a battle against strength, both of them glared at each other in determination, both not wanting to back down._

_Instead he got one hand and went to punch her in the shoulder, when Kaida also let one hand go from the small handle of her axe and grabbed his clenched fist within hers._

_They both dropped their weapons onto the continuous flying bird, this time, in reverse, Kaida went to punch Deidara with her now free hand, but he managed to grab her hand in his as well._

_They tried pushing each other seeing who would fall, but they both wouldn't budge, instead as a last resort, she jumped up and head-butted him with her own forehead, causing them both to shout out in pain, and some blood came from both of them as they both fell down into two heaps next to each other upon the bird._

"_Fuck! W-what the hell was t-that for?!" Deidara exclaimed through the pain, his voice stuttering, he gripped his head tight between his hands._

_Kaida did the same and answered in frustration "When you're against the enemy you have to improvise b-best you can!" _

_Deidara groaned from the pain, and quickly sat up, instead he leaned over Kaida, grabbing her wrists he held them above her head with one hand, his other hand got out a kunai and held it to her throat, he stated simply "You're dead."_

_She stared at him with her vision fuzzy, and she sighed in defeat, nodding reluctantly, but felt hardly like giving up, she just couldn't be bothered to continue, especially through the excruciating pain throbbing through her head._

"_You know I would've won if It weren't for the head butt." She stated stubbornly, Deidara frowned, getting off her he sat down with crossed legs and stated "The head butt was __**your**__ idea, yeah, so don't go on the 'what ifs' you chose to do that move, hmm, if you were in a real battle, you'd have been dead by now, hmm."_

_Kaida sighed and answered "Perhaps, but like I said, when you're against the enemy you have to improvise, I think I may have hit your head a little harder than I expected…"_

"_Oh, you think, hmm?" Deidara said sarcastically, pulling a face, as he looked over the side of his bird and saw that they were coming close to the ground._

_Kaida sat up and replaced the axe upon her back, where it belonged, before turning to Deidara she muttered "Thanks for the fight, you're very good."_

_His head shot up and he stared at her long and hard for a couple of minutes, seeing nothing but general kindness in her eyes, he nodded, feeling his cheeks warm slightly, he answered "No worries, yeah."_

_She smiled, but almost screamed when she saw him attempt to stand and he fell off the side of the bird and to the ground._

_Kaida jumped up to look over the side of the bird and found that luckily the bird had landed on the ground already, and he was lying on the ground, clutching his stomach faintly as she heard it growling._

_She glared at him and jumping off, she pulled him up by his cloak and shook him slightly whilst snapping "Don't you ever do that to me again! I thought you'd fallen to your death!"_

"_S-sorry…u-un!" Deidara exclaimed dizzily, she noticed that he was rather pale and felt a little worried and that it was partly her fault for the way he was._

"_Let's go and get something to eat." She stated on a helpless sigh, and at that the mere mention of food, had him snap awake, he smirked at how close they were, leaning more close he muttered huskily "Aw, you care, hmm."_

_Kaida blushed lightly, and rolled her eyes, dropping him to the floor, she turned away from him, walking off in the other direction she answered "That'd be the day, now let's go and get you something before you pass out and then Pein will be onto me, thinking that it was my fault."_

_Deidara smirked to himself, he really liked this girl, and knew they'd become good friends and sparring buddies, and he knew it was more than Leader shouting at her that made her concerned about him, for she'd stated earlier that she hardly wanted to be here._

_He got up, the giant bird next to him disappeared in a puff of smoke and returned to it's original size, picking it up from the floor, he followed swiftly behind her, smiling at her back all the while. _


	5. Faze Five

_**Faze Five:**_

_Deidara and Kaida arrived about an hour later in a small village, it apparently didn't have a name and only had a few shops, and very few houses, indeed._

_It was a very tiny village, it was barely anything in comparison to that of the great five countries._

_They both went into a small tea shop, there was hardly anyone sat there, perhaps a few travellers, but really just a few older people minding their own business._

_Their conversations weren't too loud, the muttering from others' conversations had ceased once they saw Kaida's wings and bright eyes, Deidara's hairstyle and unusual cloak._

"_Foreigners" One of the older men had muttered to his companion, and they both nodded and sighed, then continued onto another topic of crosswords and fruit._

_They both sat down at the back of the tea shop, away from anyone else and their disturbing stares, a middle-aged woman with faint red hair tied back into a tight bun came to their table and asked what they wanted._

_Deidara after looking at the menu in hunger, he asked for rice, fish and a small bowl of curry, the woman stared at him, then asked him what he wanted to drink, he answered "Green tea."_

_The woman took note of all that Deidara had asked for, and her eyes almost popped out at the beautiful girl with the pearl white wings sat before her, she seemed dazzled by her appearance, Kaida gave the woman a funny look, feeling uncomfortable, she waved a hand in front of the woman's eyes and asked "Hello? Lady, are you okay?" _

_The woman woke up, and asked in a dazed voice, filled with 'awe' what Kaida wanted, she simply replied quickly enough "Sweet dumplings and green tea for me, thanks."_

_And the woman left them alone._

"_Does everyone stare at you like that, hmm?" Deidara asked faintly as he began fiddling with a salt container on the table, staring after the woman with an annoyed look, then looked down at his hands with the salt container._

"_Yes. They do, I wouldn't be surprised if they start begging me to fly them somewhere because an Angel has landed. It's annoying." She answered, wrinkling her nose in disgust, she huffed lightly when she saw the woman from earlier staring at her repeatedly through the doorway behind the counter that led towards the kitchen, Deidara looked up at the little noise she made, and followed her gaze, curious to what she was looking at._

_The woman who began whispering to people working in the kitchen, pointing at Kaida with growing excitement that almost made him want to blow the shop up._

_Deidara glared darkly at the woman with his only visible eye, she caught his gaze and jumped, before running off further back into the kitchen, out of sight, he snorted loudly, thinking how ironic people seemed to be._

_Kaida noticed, she smiled mentally and let a small sigh pass her lips, she rested her head in her hands, her elbows leaning on the table, she watched Deidara faintly continue playing with the salt container._

"_Ignore her, yeah, she's just pathetic, hmm." Deidara muttered defensively, his stomach faintly growling, reminding him why they were here in the tea shop to begin with and he almost felt like shouting out to the woman in the kitchen wondering how long his meal was going to take._

_The same woman from before suddenly re-appeared by their sides with the drinks, she smiled sweetly at them, and handed Kaida her sweet dumplings, there was more on the plate than there should be, both Kaida and Deidara noticed the small fact, and as the woman walked away she called back "That's for the happy couple to share!"_

_Deidara's eye widened and Kaida's mouth fell open, both of them gawked at the woman's back as she walked away whistling to herself cheerfully._

"_I-he…we are not dating!" Kaida exclaimed, though knew the woman couldn't hear her, and she also knew that her deep blush gave away hints of it being untrue._

_Deidara too, had noticed that small fact, he, himself felt his cheeks turn to a delicate shade of pink, especially when he looked around and noticed a few people staring at them, he gave them all a silent glare and they turned away, he didn't dwell on it, instead took his tea, and whilst sipping it, he smiled to himself._

"_Stupid, nosey waitresses!" Kaida muttered in annoyance under her breath, as she too picked up her drink and began sipping it calmly, she felt his stare upon her, and when she looked up, it was confirmed, she paused and asked "Something wrong?"_

_He stared at her a little longer, then automatically stared at the sweet dumplings on the plate with a violent hunger she couldn't even begin to imagine existed._

_She rolled her eyes in humour, smiling, she pushed the small plate towards him and said "Here, have something before you fall out of your seat and spill tea all down you."_

_He smirked at that, placing his tea down he picked up a stick of sweet dumplings just as she had, and they sat there silently, munching away on the lovely tasting food, hardly expecting it to be this good, Deidara felt himself look forward to the main meal._

_When it did arrive however, there was so much there that for a minute he sat there staring at it with wide eyes, Kaida giggled at his daunted look, before he asked her to help him eat it._

_She of course accepted, she gave him a knowing look as she dished the food up so that they had half each, she muttered "Eyes bigger than your belly?"_

_Deidara stared at her, with a smirk he answered simply, picking up his spoon to eat the rice and curry he stated "Nah, hmm, and I only have one eye visible, yeah, the other…"_

_Deidara lifted his bangs that covered his left eye and she then saw a mini-telescope covering his left eye completely, almost making it virtually impossible for him to see normally._

"_Wow. That is pretty neat, I could do with one of those, flying around like I do, I don't get to see what the enemy is planning or doing from great distances." Kaida sighed, lifting a hand she traced it gently, then letting her hand drop she smiled and picked up her own spoon._

"_It comes in great use, un, but I didn't buy this, I made it, with…well, I made it with someone, hmm." Deidara's voice trailed off as he began eating, he didn't want to bring up the topic of the 'relationship' between himself and Itachi Uchiha, though there wasn't one._

_They hated each other._

_End of._

_Kaida hesitated before she too started eating, wondering what it was he was about to say to her, though she didn't dwell on it, and instead decided to let her mind wonder to her mother._

_Once they'd both finished their meal, they both got up to leave, Deidara stretching in contentment, his stomach was full and he felt much more co-operative and nice than before._

_Kaida went along to the till and paid, the same waitress from earlier gave her a discount, she whispered "Hope I'll see you some other time." Before giving Kaida a wink and went off to the table herself and Deidara were originally sat at to clear away the dishes._

_Deidara noticed this and taking her arm gently he led her out of the shop, out of safe distance from ear-wagging customers._

"_I could've paid, hmm, I do have some money with me-"_

"_Nonsense, after all, it's not the money, it's the company, I haven't had some decent company for…well, years. I don't mind, besides she gave me a discount." Kaida smiled lightly, his arm fell away from hers and they both continued to walk off into the forest, both taking their time._

_The weather was much the same as earlier, though the sun was starting to get lower, the rays of the sun were more warm and painted the sky with yellows, oranges and blues, it truly was artistic._

_As if sensing what she was thinking Deidara looked at the sky and muttered "It's beautiful, yeah…"_

_Kaida nodded in agreement, more than anything she loved to fly in the skies, feeling the wind on her face and blowing through her hair, getting the rush of excitement within herself when she flies high and drops down and the suns rays upon her as she glides upon the winds calmly._

"_I know…I challenge you to a race, yeah!" Deidara turned on her, grinning happily, finally remembering what he first thought of her earlier that day._

_Kaida stared at him slightly, and then answered on a small sigh "But we only ate half an hour ago, you might be fine, but I certainly don't want to be sick." _

_Deidara's face and shoulders fell visibly, depression seeping through him, he felt down and had stupidly pinned all of his hopes on this young girl to race with him, just by the way she answered, he could tell that she wasn't keen._

_Reading his reaction, she raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, then sighed lightly once more, before saying "Well…fine! We'll race, but only up to that big oak tree, agreed?"_

_Deidara felt the excitement bubble up within himself, he looked over at the huge dark tree she was pointing at, it was about half a mile away, this looked fun, it was a reasonable distance, giving him time to take the advantage to try and succeed in winning, and he grinned, happy that he was finally going to be able to race someone else who could fly._

_Deidara shoved his hand in his pouch, allowing his hand to quickly form the bird that he would use to win this competition, Kaida peered at his hand in the pouch, she looked a little confused, he caught her gaze, and smiling softly, he stated "These pouches hold my explosive clay, I have a Kekkei Genkai that allows me to form and manipulate this explosive clay once it takes form, hmm,"_

_Kaida smiled warmly and nodded her head vigorously, registering the necessary information on him for future reference, in case she should spar with him again._

"_I suppose it's only fair I tell you my Kekkei Genkai? Mine is more clear, I have these wings and I can talk to birds-"_

"_You can talk to birds, yeah?! Wow…hmm…" Deidara stared at her with wide eyes full of admiration for her, he had to admit he was a little jealous of her special abilities, but that didn't mean he respected them either, for he was happy enough that he could fly around without the help of real__ wings._

_Kaida pulled her goggles over her eyes, knowing this would be an all-out fast competition, she was determined to win, she smirked lightly, and answered "Mmm, even I have to admit it does come in handy from time-to-time."_

_Deidara smirked as well, the bird was ready, he lifted his hand out of his pouch, he threw the little bird on the ground, making a hand sign, the bird expanded and became very large within a puff of smoke, he hesitated before jumping on, and looking at her, staring at her with that beautiful blue eye, he asked "Before we start, hmm…what is your view on art? Do you think it's eternal? Or within the moment? Hmm?"_

_This confused Kaida somewhat, she thought deeply, she never really was the best at drawing, she'd never tried, she'd always been too focused on finding her mother to be doing much else._

_It suddenly hit her now; she'd been wasting her life, she'd searched for years to find her mother, and she'd never actually gained any hobbies or proper friends. She is lonely and without a doubt the most foolish creature ever created._

_Apart from flying and writing in her diary, she had little else to consider as a hobby._

_Deidara stared at her intently, seeing the mixture of emotions playing across her face, he could now see the sudden burst of enthusiasm she'd had earlier had disappeared, he knew she was thinking of something, something that she didn't like or had just remembered._

_After a couple of minutes she answered seriously "I don't have a view on art. But I think it's both. Some art-like paintings can last for centuries, where as others, like singing can only last for the present, you can't sing like that forever and it wouldn't be the same again even if you did try. But that's just my opinion, I've never really bothered to look or think about art, I've been so occupied with finding my mother that…nothing else mattered…"_

_Her voice trailed off sadly, her eyes misting over as tears threatened to over-whelm her, she heard him sigh, and then he was by her side, his hand on her shoulder, she looked up at the sudden contact, he looked serious and his voice was just as serious when he spoke "I think you are very reliable, hmm, I don't have any parents, and I wouldn't go back to them if they were alive, yeah, what do you think of Konan, hmm?"_

_Kaida's eyes flashed anger and she felt the sudden rage rush through her veins with her blood as she almost snarled "That…__woman__! She left me because she never wanted me, she despises me, she doesn't want me here, I thought for so many years she was dead, and I wasted all those years searching for her, and when I do find her, I see that she never intended to return, and now I've been forced to join this stupid organization, I never knew she was apart of the 'Akatsuki', and I certainly don't want to be a part of this horrible episode anymore!"_

_Deidara stared at her, his eye wide and he was left speechless, she was now breathing hard, catching lost breath, and she felt herself shaking lightly, her eyes lowered, knowing she'd told him too much, but who cared, right?_

"_You were…forced to join…hmm…" Deidara murmured quietly, his hand fell from her shoulder, he turned away from her, and taking in a deep breath he let it exhale slowly as he now looked over his shoulder and said "How ironic…yeah…here's a little short story for you, hmm, a few years back I was confronted by the Akatsuki, and I was to join, if I didn't then I'd have to fight and kill them. Heh, I fought against the one man I hated, hmm…and lost. I was also forced to join this 'organization', so I know how it feels, feeling trapped and suffocated is the worst feeling ever, yeah…"_

_Kaida stared at him in slight shock, though lowered her gaze from his and muttered quietly "Well…at least we have each other? It's nice to know that I'm not alone, I don't think I've ever had a real friend before…" she looked at him now, he'd turned to face her, and staring at him innocently she asked "Deidara…will you be my friend?"_

_That was the first time she'd said his name, and he kind of like the way she unnoticeably purred it out within her own innocence._

_A friend? Is that what he wanted?_

_Well, he didn't have any of those himself, he often felt lonely, he presumed all of the Akatsuki felt that way, but were blinded by their ambitions, and he knew now, after thinking about it, he did feel lonely, and yearned for someone to talk to, someone to laugh with and someone to race with-the race!_

_Deidara smiled "I accept, hmm, but first, if you __really __want to be my friend, then you have to beat me in the race."_

_Kaida smiled brightly and laughed, she gave him a thumbs up, then turned it upside down as she stated "You're going down!"_

_He chuckled lightly, then hopped onto his bird, before taking off high into the skies, she too took off after him, her wings flapping furiously, as did Deidara's bird._

_Deidara kneeled upon his bird, holding himself down and poured some more chakra into the bird for extra-speed, it was only when he looked behind himself that he saw Kaida catching up to him without too much effort._

_They went faster and faster through the air, smiling at each other all the way, they were both determined to show the other who was better, they both wanted to win, and just as they came past the last few trees to the huge oak, Kaida shot in front of him, Deidara stared astonishment, they were going at 120mph and she was going __faster__._

_Something caught his eye, he used his mini-telescope to zoom in on her wings and saw they were faintly glowing, the shine was pure and beautiful, it made him stare in 'awe', and he smirked to himself, easing up on the speed he knew he'd lost this race there-and-then._

_Kaida whizzed past the tree and shot upwards, in a bid not to fly any farther than need be, she turned to face the other way, waiting for Deidara to follow her, she floated in the air calmly, her wings eventually stopped glowing, turning back to their normal colour, her breathing was rapid, she exceeded her normal speed, she only ever used that special burst of speed when in the most dangerous of situations._

_Deidara flew up to her gently, and took in her weary state and offered for her to rest on his bird as it rode on the wind, hesitantly Kaida nodded, knowing it'd be best if she relaxed and got her breath back._

_Once she fallen on her back, her wings spread over the bird, she took her hand and lifted her goggles up and placed them upon her head, her eyes were closed and she felt the sweat slowly trickling down her brow._

_Deidara sat down beside her, and murmured "You win, hmm, you know what that means, yeah?"_

_Kaida opened her eyes and peered at him, she answered "I'm faster than you?"_

_Deidara faked a shocked expression, and making something that sounded very similar to a girls gasp, he exclaimed "We're friends now! How could you forget so easily, hmm?!"_

_Kaida smiled to herself, closing her eyes again she answered "A friend…finally…" as she said this a small tear trickled from the corner of her left eye, he noticed this and stared at her calmly, not moving, not wanting to disturb her, her breathing slowed and when she opened her eyes and turned to face him, she lifted her closed fist to him and muttered "Friends?"_

_Deidara smiled lightly, raising his own clenched fist to hers, they touched and he answered "Friends, un."_


	6. Faze Six

_**Faze Six:**_

_It was after another hour of just floating through the skies calmly, that Pein and Konan appeared below them, their heads shot up to stare at Deidara's bird drifting on the winds._

_Slowly it flew down to the ground, landing a little away from them, Deidara and Kaida jumped off and stood upon the ground, they quietly walked over to them, awaiting for Pein to speak._

_Instead, it was Konan who spoke first "How was your day?"_

_Kaida stared at her mother as if she'd said something in a different language, and she was more surprised that her mother sounded concerned._

_Kaida looked at Deidara, smiling lightly, she answered "I had a great day, it was…different, but I wouldn't change it at all…" Deidara smiled at her, and Kaida looked away from him, still smiling, she stared at her mother, almost shyly, she asked "And…how was your day?"_

_Konan stared at the young girl, a brief flash of annoyance passed through her dark gaze, this caught Deidara's attention, though didn't say anything, instead, his face became serious and he stared at Konan intently, waiting for any more 'slip-ups' that could possibly give away any hint of fake caring._

"_It was…pleasant…" Konan muttered forcibly, and looked away from her daughter, not particularly interested in her anymore, they all noticed this and Kaida felt the action sting, she felt rejected, but didn't dwell on it, for at least after all this time, she'd managed to make a friend, even if he is a notorious criminal._

_Pein coughed slightly, grabbing their attentions, and he stared down at Kaida with a serious glare, as he stated "We're going back now. And tomorrow, I will teach you to improve your aim."_

_Kaida groaned loudly, placing her arms behind her head she pouted and muttered in a sulky tone of voice "Ugh! More training, 'fun', what is the point in all this 'training' you're making me do? I'm pretty sure you're a busy man," Kaida looked over at her mother knowingly with a look of disgust written on her face, she couldn't honestly see what her mother saw in a man like Pein, she looked back at the leader of the Akatsuki and continued "so how come someone else won't train me?"_

_Deidara stared at them, the tension was rising between them, but he had to admit that she did bring up a good argument, for he, himself wondered why there was such a sudden urgency to train a** subordinate**__. A real member of the Akatsuki-that he could understand, but a subordinate? Weren't they supposed to already have mastered certain talents before even being thought of trusting them within a criminal organization?_

_Deidara wondered if Leader had thought things through carefully, though that was not his place to question, he made it a point to never argue with Pein, for he had such a short fuse at times and was always so very demanding. _

"_Very well…as seeming as you find it such a great task to be taught by myself, I will bring Itachi Uchiha-another member of the Akatsuki in to train you on your accuracy, I have someone else in mind for your chakra control, you will start tomorrow morning." Pein set his mouth into a thin line, his eyes seeming to pierce through her, she knew now that he didn't want to hear anymore complaints._

_Though she was curious as to who this Itachi character was, she hoped he was at least capable of being civil, she so couldn't handle being 'taught' by someone who wouldn't even at least speak to her nicely._

_She looked at Deidara for help, but saw his face screwed up in bitterness, he was gritting his teeth together, and it seemed to be at the mere mention of this Itachi person, and that suddenly made her wonder if this was the guy that Deidara said he hated and had defeated him in battle, therefore, forcing Deidara to join the Akatsuki, against his will._

_She felt instant sadness for him, but at least he had someone else who knew what it felt to be forced to have to join, she looked back at Leader, and giving him a hard stare of her own, she answered coldly "Fine."_

_Pein turned to Deidara, his harsh gaze relaxing somewhat, he stated "Thank you for coming at short notice. You will return now. I will speak with you soon if anything more needs to be done here."_

_Deidara nodded his head slowly, Pein and Konan turned away, signalling Kaida to follow, she hesitated further before waving goodbye to Deidara, he too waved back, but she would never know how truly worried he was about the idea of Itachi training Kaida._

_It set his teeth on edge to even know that Itachi had some interest in Kaida, but to have him train alone with her for hours on end?_

_That he just couldn't stomach._

_But rules-are-rules, he just forced himself to put a little trust in Itachi, hoping that his rival didn't try anything stupid with her, for she was a lovely girl once you got to know her, she may seem rash and at times loud or outspoken, but that's what he liked about her._

_Deidara flew away with worry digging away into his system. He didn't look back._

_Kaida watched him fly away for a minute before she set off after Pein and her mother._

_They'd both stood waiting, their faces held impatience, and they didn't look like they wanted to be messed around with._

_She sighed in boredom, and once she'd caught up to them, they didn't even cast her a glance, they only seemed to acknowledge each other, it made Kaida want to hit something._

_Her mother had chosen her lover and the stupid criminal organization over her own flesh-and-blood, that just proved how much she really cared for her, and how much she wanted her._

_Although, Kaida was grateful for finding her mother, she no longer held any interest in her at all, her mother had abandoned her out of purely selfish reasons, and Kaida knew that she didn't want to be anywhere near her mother or Pein at that moment, after all, she'd wasted years searching for her mother, and now that she's found her, all she feels now is anger, she was angry at her mother, and she was determined to not cooperate with her at all. _

* * *

_It was after many hours of walking before they returned back to the Rain village, everything was just as peaceful as it was before, rain that was threatening to break out the day before, was pouring down from the heaven's, drenching them, making them cold._

_Pein turned to Kaida, who was stood there numbly, staring at the floor, he muttered "Go and rest."_

_She didn't answer, she didn't look at them, she didn't want to, she didn't even want to be here, she was trapped, alone and locked within herself, she was an Angel, a bird, she was meant to be free, but now…she was no longer free anymore._

_She turned away and walked slowly to the apartment that was near to Pein's office, she didn't look back, just kept walking, even when she was inside her apartment, she stood there for many minutes, the water running down from her wet body and clothes._

_For a while she felt incapable of doing anything, she felt numb within herself, she had to think of what she was going to do, after another ten minutes she decided she'd go for a shower, she needed to warm herself up and get some rest, ready for the next training session the next day._

_She definitely was not looking forward to it, but decided there was little she could do about it, other than comply with the wishes of her mother and Pein, she wasn't dumb, they were both powerful, definitely more powerful than her…for now._

_This could be a lucky break for herself, she could train herself relentlessly and one day, challenge her mother to a duel, testing her skills, she could also make a little wager, that if Kaida were to win then her mother and herself must leave the Akatsuki and never come back._

_Deidara immediately flashed through her mind, she'd just made her first proper friend, her mothers cold stare came to her mind as well, her mother would never forgive her and definitely wouldn't return to a 'family' life, Pein wouldn't give his lover up so easily and the Akatsuki wouldn't just allow them to leave when her mother and eventually herself would know about nearly all of their secrets._

_It was all just a waste of time, and she certainly couldn't leave now, after training with Deidara and staying in the mysterious Rain village for almost two days would mean she'd be hunted down if there was any sign of betrayal or abandonment._

_After showering, Kaida put on a nightgown and decided to write in her diary, she went to her bag and pulled out a thick, black-leathered journal, she fished out a pen, and then got into bed._

_The apartment was dark, and there was no possible way for her to see without her having to get up and put the light on, instead she placed her journal and pen upon her lap, lifting her hand to her face, she blew into her hand and from there came a shining entity, it shone brightly, then moving her hand away, it was revealed to be a small glowing orb, it's light was very relaxing and pure, it certainly calmed Kaida down, this being only one of her few abilities, the small orb of light floated away from her palm and into the air freely._

_She watched the glowing light and once again felt that little bit of happiness she'd felt during the day when she'd spent time with Deidara._

_She couldn't remember how long it'd been since she'd had such a great day; sharing someone else's company._

_She picked up the pen and began to write her thoughts down:_

Dear Diary,

Today started out weird, I can't explain it, but I know Pein and mum are up to something, I can sense it, I may be rash and rather forgetful at times, Diary, but at least I can tell when someone doesn't want me around, loathes me or is hiding something from me.

I don't like it, Diary, I know they're using me, and I thought that after all this time I was able to find my mum, but now that I have-I wish I hadn't, she doesn't want me, Diary, she hates me, she doesn't want me here, I know it, I can see it in her eyes.

I understand she is probably struggling to come to terms with the realisation that I'm here, alive and well..can't ever leave, but she doesn't understand at all, how hard it's been for me, I have searched and searched until I collapsed from exhaustion, doesn't she care that I've wasted most of my life trying to find her again?

I can easily answer that for you, Diary, she doesn't care, I can tell she wishes I'd never bothered to look for her, she probably doesn't even want me near her.

I can't stand it that her lover has to be Pein, he is very strict and so..discreet and moody, it's not my fault that I didn't know mother was a part of a secret criminal organization!

How was I supposed to know? You don't generally go thinking up things like that!

But it isn't fantasy, it's true, and as far as I'm concerned, she's dead to me, I don't like her, I hate her, she hates me, it's simple really, I'm not going anywhere, but I'm not going anywhere near her.

Oh, but I have great news, Diary! I've made my first friend, after all these years, it was so much fun today, although Pein instructed us to fight against each other, to test my skills, we both went for something to eat afterwards at a small tea shop, and then we had a race and a long chat about random stuff that popped into our heads.

I've never felt so relaxed in someone else's company, Diary, it makes me relieved that I have you and now Deidara.

Yes, that's his name, unusual, but I really like him, and if I have to be totally honest..I think he's cute!

Anyway, afterwards, Pein and mum came back (spoiling the fun) and let's just say me and 'Leader' didn't hit it off so well, because now I have to train with some guy called; Itachi Uchiha?

Yeah, that's his name, hmm, I remember hearing the name 'Uchiha' when I was in the Leaf village about two years ago, other than that, nothing comes to mind.

Itachi is supposedly teaching me how to aim properly, and Pein has someone else in mind for my chakra control training.

What a bummer, why can't I just be given some missions, so I can get away from this horrible village where I'm always seeing my mother and her stupid lover all the time?

Then again, this could work to my advantage, I can become stronger than I am, for free, and maybe one day either run away or challenge my mum to a duel.

I would so love to beat her in a battle!

But then again I shouldn't hold my breath, dreams don't always come true, don't I know it!

Ah, I'm feeling a little sleepy now, better get some rest if I'm going to survive some more training tomorrow.

Bye x x

_After she'd locked her diary shut, Kaida placed it back in the draw of the bedside table that was next to the bed, knowing that no one could come in a open her diary without her chakra or knowledge of the password, she was positive, that nothing would go wrong in that department. _

_She snuggled down under the covers, and within a blink of the eyes, the small orb of shining light dispersed and darkness resumed around her once more, it was minutes later of peace and quiet that she finally fell into an exhausted slumber._


	7. Faze Seven

**_Faze Seven:_**

_The next morning and Kaida was greeted with a horrible downpour of rain, so much for enthusiasm, she thought in boredom._

_After she got dressed and had breakfast, she flew over to Pein's office, and waited outside patiently under the small roof that peeked over the edge of the building._

_Pein and Konan came out after ten minutes and instead of walking through the rain, they decided to teleport, Kaida was new to this sort of transportation and instead, Pein helped teleport her to the same forest she was in the day before, but in a different area, this area was much more shaded and very hidden._

_Her first reaction when she realised that she'd teleported for the first time was; amazement, happiness, admiration, shock and then she almost became submissive when she realised that she barely knew the essentials of a proper shinobi._

_Of course she went to a Ninja academy and passed, she was a Chuunin, but if her abilities were more focused and not so…rough around the edges, then she could become a great Jounin!_

_That seemed to perk her up a bit, for after that thought she was suddenly determined to become a great Jounin, of course that would take time and lot's of boring training._

_At the sudden memory of training, she forgot her momentary relapse that had both Pein and Konan staring at her with weird looks, wondering if she was bipolar in some way, that her eyes met a pair of blood-red ones, they were unusual and shone through the shade._

_The black silhouette was sat upon a boulder, just as Deidara had done, but this man…Itachi? Was it?_

_He didn't seem that social, and certainly had a cold stare._

_This much she could make out of him, just by looking into his eyes, and he didn't call over to them like Deidara had done the day before._

_A cough interrupted the tension, and Kaida looked over at Pein, whom now began speaking to the other man._

_"Itachi, she's all yours, I want you to teach her how to aim more accurately, and don't hurt her in anyway. We will come back for you; Kaida, later." And with that both Pein and Konan disappeared again._

_Kaida rolled her eyes at where they were stood, since when did they ever not disappear?_

_Itachi caught her attention when he moved gracefully from the boulder, onto the ground, he moved away from the shadows and out into the slight ray of sun that shone through the trees above._

_He was tall, had long dark hair tied into a tail, his red eyes-some sort of Kekkei Genkai possibly, he wasn't exactly her idea of handsome, but he was definitely good-looking._

_He studied her appreciatively and knew he had a good mind to be interested in her, for although she shared similar looks to Konan, she definitely was very beautiful, but that could also be because she was an Angel?_

_Either way, he was secretly all too happy to comply with her training, it meant that he could see her up close and look at her without being questioned, besides, they would have eventually met up at some point or another._

_His arm stretched out to her and he muttered a calm "Come."_

_Kaida hesitated, but knew she had to train, she walked slowly up to him, staring at him with innocent, bright orange eyes, she slowly rested her hand in his outstretched one, knowing not to disobey him, her eyes met his glowing ones when she was almost chest-to-chest against him._

_"Hmm…" he murmured calmly, soothing her, but also made her curious, his hand slowly rubbed along hers, and she felt her cheeks heat up slightly, she'd certainly never held hands with a man before, the contact new._

_"Small, soft hands, perhaps the same size as your mothers? I can feel the strength flowing in them, you are strong, yes?" He suddenly asked and his small evaluation on her strength-from only holding one of her hands left her speechless for a moment or so, before she nodded in agreement._

_"Everyone has a 'weapon of choice' so to speak, so what is yours?" Again he looked at her with those strange eyes of his, and she looked away, knowing it was rude to stare, she answered "An axe."_

_"What type of axe? May I see?" He asked politely, though she couldn't deny the submissive tone to it, and again she was left speechless, he was totally the opposite of what she'd thought of him earlier, although, he may not be social in the ways of small talk, he certainly voiced his thoughts when he thought necessary._

_Kaida nodded, she pulled her hand from him gently, she took a step back and lifting her arm over her shoulder she pulled her axe from it's covering and held it in front of herself, showing it to him, whilst wearing a small smile._

_He reached out and took it in his hands, but when Kaida let go, the axe and Itachi fell to the ground from the weight of it, dust covered the area once the axe made contact with the ground._

_She stared wide-eyed, suddenly worried that she'd insulted her teacher by not telling him that it was 'slightly' heavy._

_When the dust did finally clear, she almost snickered, Itachi was perfectly fine, but his body was bent very low, and his hands were still holding onto the axe for dear-life, he looked very put-out and was huffing loudly, trying to pick it up to give back to her._

_Instead, she cocked her head innocently, he would've given her a glare if he was able to lift his head up, problem was, he was bent down so low and the collar of his cloak made it virtually impossible to look up._

_Kaida bent down and lifted the axe from her teacher and placed upon her back once more with little ease, Itachi slowly stood up, he was on the edge of complaining about a bad-back, until he remembered he had company._

_This time, he did give Kaida a slight death glare, which she returned with a sheepish grin._

_Once he was stood up straight, he muttered "Your strength is in-human, just like my partner's. You should perhaps train under him sometime, I will definitely put the idea to Leader, it's better to have super-strength than to not have it at all, making you vulnerable in bad situations."_

_Kaida hung her head in annoyance and sighed, great, now she was going to be training with someone** else!** Just what she's always **wanted**._

_And yes, that was sarcasm._

_Itachi raised an eyebrow at her behaviour, not catching onto why she was feeling so depressed, he thought that it was possibly because she wasn't used to being around people like himself and the other members, he wondered if Deidara had done anything to upset her, that made him grit his teeth in annoyance._

_There was no way he was going to teach an uninterested student, and he certainly wouldn't stand for any nonsense._

_"Perhaps, we should begin?" Itachi offered, hoping to get her to cheer up so that it would be easier to teach, he kept his voice firm, signalling that he didn't want any complaints._

_She raised her head, remembering that she had to forget about freedom, and focus on becoming the best she could be, with the free help of possibly the strongest shinobi ever to walk the earth, the idea certainly cheered her up a bit._

_Kaida grinned and nodding, she got out her kunai and asked "Where am I aiming?"_

_Itachi held up a hand, motioning her to stop, she did, she raised an eyebrow in confusion, why was he stopping her? Wasn't she supposed to practice?_

_"If you look around, I have marked some trees with red paint, they are your targets, I want you to hit all seven of them at once, without hesitation, if you hit the centre then you will have cut short the day of training and I would have little left to teach. But if you miss one of them, then I will make you train hard until you manage to hit that one," Itachi lowered his hand and Kaida sighed in defeat "Remember that one target that you miss, could be the difference between life and death, you just have to remember that when in battle, you must remain calm, working yourself up only makes you commit rash decisions in the heat of the moment, you overlook things and don't analyse your situation correctly or to the fullest detail."_

_Man, he never seems to stop talking! Kaida thought to herself in slight boredom, but managed to catch everything he said, not wanting to get on his bad side, in case he asked her to recite what he'd just said to her all over again._

_Good thing she had photographic memory!_

_"This style of fighting and control has saved me from many battles, and I have always come out the victor, so there should be no mistakes." Itachi finished, taking in a deep breath, Kaida sent him a funny look, thinking that he'd probably want a drink after all the bragging he's done, and will possibly continue with the conversation later, until she manages to finish this._

_She took out four kunai, thinking she couldn't get anymore in her hands, she walked to the middle of the clearing, trees around her, Itachi disappeared and reappeared to the side of a tree, away from her, though she had a fairly good idea that he'd deflect any kunai that may perhaps stray from the path of hitting the marked trees._

_Hit all the targets at once? Was he crazy? How can you hit all the targets at once? You can only have at most possibly six, maybe eight kunai in both hands at once, depending how small or big they were, but surely with that many kunai you'd easily slip up somewhere when in a middle of a battle and aiming to hit all of your opponents vital spots, it was just simply impossible!_

_Kaida sighed to herself, there was no way she was going to get away from Itachi anytime soon, and she had a very good idea that if she didn't get it right, even once their training was over, he'd make her come back the next day to complete it, that, she was most sure of._

_Kaida picked three more kunai out of her pouch, placing one in her mouth, and held three in each hand, she made sure to get a tight grip on them, she jumped into the air, twisting her body she threw them two at a time, and once she got to her last kunai still in her mouth, she shot her neck towards the last target and threw the kunai from her mouth._

_Once she landed she looked around at each target, one, two, three, four, five…she'd only managed to hit five targets!_

_Kaida ground her teeth in annoyance, the sixth one was embedded a little away from the mark on the tree, where as the seventh one she'd shot from her mouth, had completely missed the tree and had embedded itself in the ground about a metre away from where the target was._

_Itachi stepped out from the shadows next to the tree he'd been standing next too, he went along to each target and slowly took the kunai out of the trees, whilst stating "And now you'd be in trouble, two more Ninja are able to fight, and depending on their own skills, you may either have an advantage or not. But it's always better to not take risks."_

_Kaida rolled her eyes when he wasn't looking, this guy sure likes to make sure I get all the smallest details, she thought with a mental sarcastic laugh ringing through her head._

_But deep down she was a little grateful for him helping her and giving her some good advice, after all, they didn't have to bother to train her, and they certainly didn't have to bother to train her that well, but Deidara and Itachi were so far proving to be decent guys with opinions and advice, even if they were possible rivals._

_Itachi walked back to her and gave her the kunai, she sighed once, preparing to try again, but instead of allowing her to go again, Itachi placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from moving, and he muttered "Stand next to that tree and I'll show you how I hit them."_

_Kaida was in no argument, feeling glad to get away from doing more target practice and deciding this was a chance to have a small break and to see what skills he had himself, made her almost squeal in triumph._

_She nodded once, a big smile plastered on her face, she bounded off towards the tree he was stood next too, and within two leaps she was there, she turned to face him and to her surprise, already found him holding his kunai up and ready to shoot at the targets, his eyes were closed and he was focused solely on his senses._

_Within a blink of an eye he jumped high into the air, his eyes still firmly closed he twisted his body and shot out the kunai in different directions, to her surprise they each embedded themselves into the centre of each target._

_Only once he landed, did he open his eyes, and she knew at once he was smirking, despite not being able to see past the huge collar, she could read his eyes and could tell that he was smirking._

_Kaida walked out, at first she felt a tinge of jealousy at his amazing aiming skills, but she knew that not everyone was brilliant at aim, you can't be good at everything, instead, she clapped her hands lightly, like a child would after being entertained, the noise snapped him awake, and he stared at her quietly for a few moments, before he turned to retrieve his kunai, he muttered "And that's how I do it."_

_With that being said, Kaida was fired up into determination, wanting to prove she had the skill to aim properly, but, Itachi had said that not only did she lose the 'bet' they had made (or he had made), did he make Kaida learn from the bottom, she knew most of what was being said as her ears suffered many lectures that often had her eyes droop and her almost yawn, but she dare not in case he noticed and decided to make her do something too tricky for her to manage._

_At least she was able to rest for a while, after hours of lectures and small practices at shooting one kunai into a marked tree without missing, this, Kaida had done easily, but was still forced to work from the very bottom, and gradually made things more and more tricky for her._

_It was only at one point that she almost collapsed from dehydration that Itachi realised how long they'd gone without food and water, so he said they could stop and have lunch, problem was they both sat down opposite one another and realised that they'd both forgotten to pack anything to eat or drink._

_Luckily, they'd both managed to find a small river further in the forest, where they each had a drink and caught some fish, after making a small fire, they ate some cooked fish._

_They'd both eaten in silence, though Kaida couldn't understand why that every time she lifted her head, that she found Itachi was staring at her, though, even before she could ask if there was something on his mind, he'd look away almost at once, she didn't think much of it and thought that he was probably staring at her wings._

_"So…Konan is your mother?" He'd started up a conversation, which he didn't know actually hurt her to talk or think about, for she knew instinctively that her mother disliked her intensely, but instead, she simply nodded her head for an answer._

_Silence remained around them for the rest of the duration of their late lunch, it was only as they walked back to the training grounds, that Itachi began to ask questions, suddenly getting the urge to know more about her, after all, he did state that he was interested in her at the meeting, and there was no way he was going to back down now._

_"And your father?" The question startled her slightly, for deep down she'd never considered or wondered whom her father was, and she was not going to subject herself to asking her mother questions about her parentage._

_Kaida instead shook her head calmly and muttered "I don't know…" she'd been solely focused on finding her mother that she'd completely forgotten about who her father could be, why didn't she search for him instead?_

_Easier said than done, it was hardly like she had the freedom to do that at the moment, or ever if she was made very unlucky, her mother would definitely not tell her, though she couldn't be sure herself that if she would want to know, besides many things could've happened to her father, he could be dead for all she knew or could've started a life of his own, and who was she to interrupt?_

_She realised that she'd done the exact same thing to her mother, and although she was being a hypocrite thinking that, she couldn't go back now, and it was hardly her fault that she thought her mother had been to injured or had amnesia or some illness that refused her to travel back to her._

_The rejection stung her harshly, and she just had to grit her teeth together to stop herself crying in front of her teacher for the day, but she would not cry, crying would do no good, it wouldn't bring back the mother she'd spent many years searching for._

_"What is it like being Konan's daughter?" He asked, snapping her awake from her thoughts, she gritted her teeth even harder, she didn't want to think about her mother anymore, wasn't she shamed enough to have to spend time in the company of a woman who was a cold-hearted killer?_

_"We haven't spent much time together, but I can tell she doesn't want me around, and I am angry at myself for wasting years of my life searching for someone who is already **dead**." She snapped angrily, though it weren't at him, and he seemed to understand that, she was thankful that she didn't have to explain._

_Instead he placed a hand on her right shoulder, and when she looked at him, he gave a sympathetic look, she apologized and when she looked ahead of herself, they were back at the clearing._

_

* * *

_

_Pein and Konan appeared into view, though saw that Kaida and Itachi were getting along rather well, Konan mainly noticed this, and almost let out a sigh of relief, though, she couldn't understand why._

_She hated her daughter for ruining her life…right..?_

_Yes, oh, how she hated her very much, she wished Kaida was never born and didn't show up out of nowhere, causing her to remember __**everything**__._

_Itachi stepped away from Kaida, she was in the middle of the clearing by herself, Itachi stood to the side, and he nodded once to them over his shoulder, acknowledging their presence, though it seemed Kaida hadn't, for she had her eyes closed and was focusing on her senses._

_They decided not to interrupt to see how the training had gone, wanting to see with their own eyes of her success._

_Within a blink of the eye, Kaida was up in the air, upside down, she held six kunai in her hands and one in her mouth, twisting her body, whilst her eyes remained closed she threw each kunai into a target, hitting them dead on in the middle, the one in her mouth though, was thrown into a target with just a simple toss of her neck._

_She landed on the ground gracefully, and when she opened her eyes, Itachi was already there at her side, congratulating her on her efforts, for although she spent the whole day training solely on hitting the targets with such precision, she'd managed to obtain what she otherwise would not have been able to do without the guide of Itachi._

_She would've given him a high-five, or something, had she not noticed Pein and Konan standing there watching with interest, instead of feeling happy that they were finally going back 'home', hostility seeped through Kaida._

_Itachi and the others noticed this instantly, especially when her cheery-self suddenly crashed down to someone passive and hateful, but never the less, she bowed to Itachi, smiling at him politely she thanked him._

_He nodded, his eyes smiling at her, she walked past him over to Pein and Konan, they looked down at her, realising how small she really was compared to their monstrous height, they were at least six foot or more._

_Pein turned to Itachi whom had walked up to them slowly, and said "Thank you Itachi, I see Kaida's skills have improved, we will call for you soon, but for now you are dismissed."_

_Itachi nodded, bowing slightly to his leader, he looked at Kaida once more before he disappeared within a huge puff of smoke, leaving Kaida in envy and amazement at how they could appear and disappear so quickly._

_Pein and Konan turned away, Kaida turned, remembering that she lived practically next door to them now made her feel even more depressed, she followed in boredom and refused to speak to them, though they didn't even bother asking anything or even acknowledging her, and she was fed-up with it, she wanted to shake them senseless-how dare they!_

_She'd searched and searched for her mother, and then when she finds her, her mother has been converted to this heartless woman, whilst entertaining a lover that she's had for goodness knows how many years! And then they make her join their stupid organization, and ignore her like she wasn't fit to be in their company!_

_Well, two can play at that game, all she had to do was ignore them too, and fulfil everything they ask of her quickly, so that they'd realise she wasn't going to sit around all day and allow herself to be thought of as ungrateful and a burden, she'll prove to them that she was just a good a fighter as the next!_

_But first, she needed a shower, food and a good eight-hour sleep, damn, she was tired, how did she get so tired all of a sudden, or was she just weary?_

_Either way she couldn't wait to get back to her apartment._


	8. Faze Eight

_**Faze Eight:**_

_The journey back to the Rain village was boring and tiring, after the training Kaida had done that day she was surely ready to have the warm water from a shower-or a bath heat her body away from it's rather cold experience, she definitely was prepared for some time alone and sleep._

_Pein and her mother hadn't spoken a word to her since they met up with her to escort her 'home', she still didn't know the exact routes to-and-from the Rain village to the forest that she was currently training in, but Kaida knew that because of her photographic memory she'd be able to register it perfectly once she's travelled a little more around the forest._

_Kaida still ignored them, but began humming silently to herself of a tune from her childhood, she couldn't remember where she'd heard it from, but she knew it was peaceful and made her feel content, she was certain that no one would disrupt her moment of happiness, she felt mighty proud that she'd learned something today, originally she thought that she wouldn't learn much from these criminals, for they wouldn't want to waste their efforts or time on her and she felt happy deep down knowing that was not the case, in fact from what she could make out they were all willing to help her learn more skills and become stronger, well, all except for her mother that is._

_But Kaida knew she could handle that, she just had to pretend her mother wasn't around, that she was a nobody, that she'd spent many years just travelling because she wanted to go 'site-seeing', though deep down Kaida knew that just wasn't possible, her mother was her mother, they were related by blood, nothing can break that bond._

_Kaida looked up at the back of her mother with sad eyes and wondered what had happened to make her mother turn cold and heartless._

_Was it because she was naughty as a kid? Did she make her mother worry too much? Or give her too much pressure?_

_But Kaida knew that wasn't possible, for she remembered precisely that Konan had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that Kaida hardly ever left their small house, and this resulted in her not having any friends and didn't know too much about the outside world, until the old ex-priest had taken her away, saving her from near-death because of starvation, he showed her what the world was really like, they travelled together to many small villages and eventually settled down outside a small village on the outskirts of the Waterfall village, but after he died, Kaida decided she'd search for her lost mother, needing to know if she really was dead._

_But it was only now that she knew her mother had intentionally left her to starve and die, and that hurt her more than anything ever created._

_Kaida looked away sadly, feeling the horrible surge of disgust and sadness rush through her, making her wish to cry, she knew deep down she didn't want this anymore, she didn't want to be here where her mother would give her nasty stares._

_Kaida shook her head and continued humming, deciding that she would not let her mother get to her, she would become strong and prove to everyone that she was worth something._

"_Where did you hear that song?" Kaida paused, then looked up and noticed Konan was walking beside her now, Pein was a little ahead, but not away from hearing distance, she knew he would analyse every little detail she said, but she didn't care that much, after all, there wasn't anyone left alive that cared for her, the only life she was risking was her own._

_Kaida stopped humming, and answered "I remember this song from many years ago, for some reason it just makes me feel calm."_

_She peered at her mother from the corner of her eye, but didn't say anything more, her mother wasn't even looking at her and she didn't even know if her mother was paying that much attention to what she'd said, it seemed as though she was deep in thought, and Kaida mentally stuck her tongue out at her mother._

_Oh, how she could not wait to get back to her apartment and lock herself away from them!_

"_It is unusual…but I think I may have had it somewhere before…as well…" Konan muttered more to herself than to her daughter, but it did make Kaida wonder why her mother was bothering to make any sort of conversation with her, didn't Konan want her dead or something?_

_She'd happily comply with leaving completely if that meant never seeing her mother again, even though the thought was dreadful, she knew that what her mother had done to her was more than dreadful, it was shocking, disgusting for a mother to abandon her child._

_Konan seemed to have picked up on the sudden hostility emanating from her daughter, she glanced at her, but then turned away and caught up to Pein, as they continued walking on in front, leaving Kaida to stare at their backs, with a new kind of annoyance she thought wasn't possible to feel towards them after everything that had happened._

_Kaida ignored them once more, she decided to focus her attention on something more interesting__._

* * *

_It was many hours later that they arrived back into the Rain village, and to Kaida's frustration it was once again raining._

_And it wasn't the weather that annoyed the hell out of her, it was the people as well, oh no, she wasn't just on about her mother and her mother's lover, whom so happened to be the leader of the 'Akatsuki' and ruler of the village itself, but the people that inhabited the village were also starting to irritate her._

_Although she hadn't been able to go on a proper 'tour' of the village, that didn't mean she hadn't received any curious and cold stares coming from random strangers that would hide and quake in fear whenever she passed them._

_Instead, she ignored them as well, what was the point in making friends from this village?_

_They all seemed to stay clear of her whenever she was around, and once before when she'd greeted a woman and her child in the street, the mother had jumped, grabbed her child and fled to the nearest building where she could lock Kaida away from them._

"_Kaida." The insipid voice of Pein made Kaida look up from the ground, where she'd previously been staring at the puddles with slight interest, watching as the droplets crashed against the puddles like some form of dance._

_Her gaze narrowed somewhat, wondering why they had to break her concentration on something so pretty, to no doubt listen to things she'd heard already._

"_Go straight back to your apartment, and you will meet us at the same time and outside my office tomorrow morning, understood?" The fact that he was giving her orders like he was her father made her anger bubble inside, but she fought it down, unable to answer with words because she knew she'd shout insults at them, instead, she nodded once, bowed slightly and turned before they could say anything else, she flew up to her apartment, which, although was near to Pein's office, it still wasn't exactly anywhere close to where they were stood._

_Her wings flapped impatiently at her mood, and instantly having felt the wind blow through her hair made her anger disappear almost completely, and by the time she landed outside the front door to her apartment, she relaxed visibly and after unlocking the door, she pushed it open calmly and allowed it to shut behind her with little ease._

_Her apartment was well-furbished and looked rather expensive, and it definitely suited her needs just fine, it was dark inside and somehow held a sort of distant feel to it, one that she couldn't recognize, but she felt that someone who'd decorated or made this place must've been feeling a lot of sorrow, for the walls were bare and had many cold colours painted across the walls._

_If it were down to her she'd have chosen more suitable colours to her mood and also to take her away from the pitiful weather outside that always made her irritated, mainly because she knew she couldn't fly around in that sort of weather without getting her wings really wet, then they'd start itching._

_She would've chosen oranges, yellows, reds, blues and purples, maybe greens and creams too?_

_Something warm and cheerful, she'd then put up pictures of sunny hillsides, beaches, but her favourite yet was the skies, she'd definitely have many pictures of sunsets, clouds, the sun and the moon, the stars, so many wonders and yet she just couldn't take it all in._

_Kaida loved laying in the spring grass and stare at the sky calmly, listening to all the birds fly past and conduct their harmonies in splendour, whilst the fluffy clouds drift past slowly._

_However, that would never happen here, she'd be lucky if she were able to remain dry for more than half an hour, what a horrible dead-beat village her mother could've chosen of all places to reside in with her lover._

_Shaking her head, Kaida went along the wooden floorboards, down the hallway and along to the bathroom next to her bedroom, deciding that a warm shower would be most appreciated for her tired limbs and aching muscles._

* * *

_After her shower, Kaida came out and put the same nightclothes she wore the night before on, and whilst combing her hair she looked through her bag at the stuff she'd kept with her whilst travelling._

_She picked out the small brooch that she'd taken off when training, it was given to her by Satu, the old woman whom lived with her husband at their tea shop, although they had been rather nosey, they'd been very kind and she felt the need to visit them again sometime, though it'd have to be on a day-off, if she'd ever get one of those, or she'd probably have to sneak off to see them again, but by the time she'd get back, Pein and Konan would know that she'd left the village._

_Kaida sighed wistfully and decided she'd put it off for a while before deciding to leave the village, for if she did, then there'd probably be harsh consequences._

_She placed the brooch upon her side table, then picking up her diary, she decided to write another entry of her day of training;_

Dear Diary,

What to write?

Well, I finally met the famous Itachi Uchiha, yes, he trained me and taught me how to aim, although, my aim was alright before, it's better now.

I find him a rather strange person, he's calm, skilled and…won't stop ranting!

Hehehe, he's nice though, he certainly knows what he's talking about, and he held my hand!

No guy has ever held my hand before-not that I've given them much chance.

And it seems I'm not the only forgetful one here, Itachi forgot to take some lunch with him as well, so we had to go fishing in a river.

He's polite to me and I respect him, simply because he hasn't given me a reason to think otherwise.

He has red eyes, weird, I know it's a Kekkei Genkai, and I think I've seen or heard of it before, but I can't really remember, perhaps I heard it in Konoha a couple of years ago?

Ah well, not like I stayed around to find out.

Once again it's raining here, stupid village.

When does it ever not rain?

Pein is like the 'God' or whatever of this village, shouldn't he at least stop it from raining?

Even for just an hour, every time I come back I get soaked and my wings become so heavy, it becomes difficult to fly.

And speaking of them, mother asked me about a song I was humming today, she said she'd heard it too, and I thought we were going to have at least something in common and perhaps try and move on, but no, she always has to make it difficult, she thinks she's so much better than me, that I'm not worth being in her presence!

Grr! She makes me so mad!

Why can't she be like she used to be Diary?

Why not?

It's not fair…

_Kaida shut her diary, sadness overwhelming her, as she placed it upon the bedside table once more, she delved into her backpack once more and found what she was looking for. _

_She took out the photo of her mother, and she stroked the edges of it, feeling the sadness becoming unbearable, she had a huge lump in her throat, trying to swallow it down, she almost choked._

_Why did she have to change? Why is her mother such a monster?_

_Kaida felt the hot tears welling up in her eyes, and she tried desperately to fight them, to hold them at bay, but, alas, it didn't work, and soon they were spilling over her cheeks, down past her chin and dripping onto her bare arms._

_She kept swallowing down the horrible urge to scream, shout and swear. _

_I will not let mother win, I will not, I will not…_

_She chanted over and over in her head, but, it made no difference._

_She pushed the bag on the floor, and getting under the covers, she cuddled the photo of her mother in the darkness of the room, whilst sobbing to herself._

_And somewhere deep inside her, something was breaking, as she knew her mother had already won._

* * *

"_How is she progressing?" The dark figure of Madara murmured through the darkness of Pein's office, his back was to him and Konan as he stared out the window, watching the heavy rain fall against the window with hinted interest._

_Pein glanced briefly at Konan, before staring back again at Madara's back, he answered calmly "She seems to dislike training with other members intensely, but it seems that she also realises the needs for this, she has improved slightly. She doesn't make an effort to co-operate with __**us**__ at the moment, it appears that she doesn't like __**us**__ or this place very much."_

_Madara lifted his head, then smirked beneath his mask as he spun round to them in such blinding speed, that they needed to blink to see him properly, he stated "That's because she's still a __**child**__! You both shouldn't be so hard on her, after all, weren't we children once upon a time as well? Give her time, if not, then perhaps we should break her resistance and her spirit, maybe then she won't try to resist and won't give us too much trouble?"_

_Konan's eyes narrowed, almost dangerously, as she muttered coldly "Pushing her will not make her comply, she'd only resist us more, breaking her spirit would be too drastic, for if we placed her in battle, she wouldn't put much effort into fighting her opponent, therefore becoming weak and an easy target. She'd become useless."_

_Pein stared at her with eyes that sent her warning signals, but too late did she realise that she'd spoken out of place, for now she felt her head connect with the bookcase behind her, she fell to the floor and cradled her head in her hands as she felt her senses give way to dizzying nausea, making her feel the need to gag._

_Pein was already on his feet, swiftly behind Madara, his arm grabbed onto Madara's arm before he could hit Konan with his fist that was aimed at her head where her head had originally connected with the bookcase._

_Madara stopped all movement, his raised fist in mid-air, feeling the sudden contact of Pein's hand on his arm, he lowered his own arm, his anger slowly cooling down, and then he yanked his arm from Pein's grip, staring down at Konan with his Sharingan eye, he muttered "I apologise, looks like my annoyance got the better of me."_

_A small cackle filled the room, as Madara turned and walked over to the window, again keeping his back to them both, he could faintly hear Pein helping Konan to her feet from behind._

_Konan leaned onto Pein for support, her senses slowly shifting back into place, but didn't dare stand without assistance, knowing all too well that she would fall._

"_Very well, I won't do anything for now, but make sure she understands that I won't have her uninterested, she must become an excellent fighter, I won't have anything less, if she slips up once, then I will be there to hit her so hard that perhaps she won't be able to fly again," Madara smirked loudly, and Konan's eyes widened slowly at the sudden rush of fear for her daughter, what if Madara actually harmed her daughter in anyway that couldn't be undone, physically or mentally?_

_Konan's eyes narrowed at Madara's back with intense hatred, as she knew she'd rather kill Kaida herself than allow her to suffer in anyway by this monster._

_Pein glanced quietly between Konan and Madara, wondering if Madara had perhaps pushed Konan a bit too far, but, disregarded it, for he knew that getting worked up over Madara's little __**games**__ were a waste of time, for he'd just continue to play them all the more, until you snapped._

_As if Madara had read their minds, he spun round once more, then with another loud smirk, he stated "I will be back soon, and remember what I said-"_

"_What is it exactly that you want with Kaida?" Pein asked calmly, after wondering whether he should've asked, he knew that it was vital that Madara be honest with them, and tell them why he wanted her trained so hard and to become the best she could be._

_The room was silent for some moments, before the intense glare of Madara's Sharingan eye connected with Pein's Rinnegan eyes, he stated darkly "__**That**__ is none of your concern."_

_And with that he disappeared from them within a huge puff of smoke, leaving them both confused and Konan slightly shaken, but both now knew of the job at hand, and would make sure that nothing happened to Kaida as long as they were both around._

_But Konan couldn't help but continue to wonder what Madara __**really**__ wanted from her daughter?_


	9. Faze Nine

_**Faze Nine:**_

_Kaida rubbed a hand at her eyes for what seemed to be the millionth time that morning, ever since waking up, she'd walked into the bathroom, looking into the mirror faintly as she went to clean her teeth, she saw her swollen red eyes._

_Due to her constant sobbing from the night before into early hours of the morning, she'd felt herself very tired and hungry._

_She felt empty and didn't have that usual rush of life bursting through her as she often usually did every morning._

_Wait until I have a sugar-drink, Kaida thought with a mental snicker running through her head, it'd seemed to have vibrated, and she winced, wishing she could just go back to bed and sleep the day away, yet, she'd considered herself lucky that she hadn't woken up with a headache, though, her head felt pretty bad already._

_Shrugging it off, she washed her face, and she did look a bit better afterwards, in the end she gave up and went to get changed into her everyday outfit, she had two of the exact same, but, suddenly it dawned on her that she needed to wash her clothes, and she stood there for a moment by her bed, holding up her pale blue tank-top, pulling a face at it._

_Great! Now she was going to be really late, the last thing she wanted at that moment. _

_Giving a mild grunt of displeasure, she shoved her clothes that she wore the day before on, but, decided to hide the horrid smell of how hard she'd been training by spraying quite a bit of deodorant._

_She felt a little more clean and less…stinky, and that made her mood improve slightly, and with a determined nod, she decided she was going to wash her clothes as soon as she got back, no matter how tired she was, she was determined to not go around smelling like a man who hadn't bathed in a week._

_Once she was positive her image was presentable, she went and made some toast, deciding that she was bored to tears of eating cereal non-stop every morning, she wanted to try some toast, after miraculously finding the toaster that was hidden in a cupboard beneath the sink-which was definitely a health hazard, but, she was sure someone wouldn't have put it under there if they thought it would be dangerous to use._

_Whilst her toast was cooking, she went over to the window and opened the curtains, wanting to let some light in the dark room, though she weren't in the least surprised when she saw, yet again, the heavy downpour of rain, and she then frowned._

_It was difficult enough to fly around in the heavy rain, for when her wings got wet, they became heavy, and from there she'd be unable to fly fast, she'd be almost as slow as an average Ninja running on foot._

_The weather didn't make her feel any better though, for she knew she was going to get wet and hated that more than anything else, well, okay, being wet wasn't the most terrible thing she could think of, for her worst fear was being struck by lightning._

_Luckily, she'd never had to endure that experience, though, it sounded painful enough, she always made it her solemn oath to never fly through a thunder storm-unless she really had too._

_The sudden 'ping' of the toast made her jump slightly, and she chuckled to herself lightly, she moved away from the window and pouring herself some warm tea and grabbing her slice of toast she sat down in the small living room and whilst eating her meagre breakfast, she flicked the TV on and immediately the first thing that came onto screen just had to be commercials._

_Angered now, Kaida immediately changed channel, just to find the next one the exact same, after channel surfing, well, there wasn't much surfing to do because there were only six channels, she found one that was showing a documentary on the great leaders of some of the villagers._

_From this, Kaida relaxed more into her seat, at least, this weren't too depressing and in fact, it was quite interesting._

_Kaida always had a guilty pleasure for history, although, she doesn't love watching about the wars and strife's of the countries, she relished in hearing about what the leaders of each country or village did for their people, what success's and disappointments they'd endured to get to where they were today._

_It was just as she thought this that she remembered that Pein was a leader of a village as well, staring at the screen silently, she wondered if Pein would be mentioned? Did they know much of the Rain village?_

_After fifteen long minutes of watching the historian on the TV continuously chattering away, focusing only on the Fire country and the Wind country, and from that point Kaida rolled her eyes, of course it'd mainly be about those two countries, they were the largest and most well-known out of the five main countries, it was even stated at one point that not much was known of Kusagakure-otherwise known as Grass country, Iwagakure-famously known as Rock country and Amegakure-which is where Kaida herself was currently residing, though, no one knew about that, she didn't have any friends on the outside, well, unless you considered the old couple from days and days back, and it was with a sudden realisation that it'd nearly been a week since she'd arrived!_

_Although, that didn't sound long, she definitely felt as though she'd spent years here already, and she certainly was going to have to spend some more time here if she were going to get any stronger._

_With a careless shrug, she tossed the nagging question of how long she was to remain in this country that continuously had a downpour of rain every five minutes, as much as it intrigued her at how a country could thrive in such conditions, she found the rain tedious and very draining, she didn't know whether she preferred the rain or sun beating down on her._

_Whilst thinking for an answer from that, she switched the TV off, and taking her cup and plate out into the equally small kitchen she washed them, before drying and replacing them, knowing she'd probably be too exhausted to want to do clothes washing and washing dirty dishes later._

_Still pondering over which weather she'd much prefer, she put on her boots, lacing them up, she grabbed her goggles, placing them on her head, she faintly checked if she had enough weapons, after checking that she was sure she had enough kunai and small shuriken, she attached her axe onto her back in it's holster, before gritting her teeth she opened the front door, seeing all the rain, she suddenly wished she didn't have to go outside, but fought the urge to turn around and stay at home by closing the door firmly behind herself, locking it, she stretched her wings before placing her goggles over her eyes she took off into the air, heading for Pein's office as she usually did every morning._

* * *

_This time, they were already waiting for her outside of his office, and it was only then that Kaida knew she was late, and they told her as much._

"_You're late." Konan muttered with a hint of annoyance threading through her voice, though, her eyes looked dead and cold, her mother was stood as usual next to her lover and they both stood upright without showing any hint of emotion, it made Kaida want to slap her mother silly, instead, refused to look at her, as she answered "Sorry, guess the time flew by."_

_Kaida smirked mentally at her statement, ironically her having wings had nothing to do with the terrible pun she'd just made-and yes, that was sarcasm._

"_Although, this is the first time for you being late, I will tell you now not to keep us waiting, you have tutors waiting for you, and they are not the most patient of people, so unless you want those wings ripped from your back and be decapitated slowly, I suggest you never be late again." Pein growled at her, sending her a glare of anger, he knew the other Akatsuki members were rather impatient, especially, when he requested them to come from far away to train their subordinate and make them wait for her in the forest._

_Kaida merely looked away from them and glanced over at the village, instantly feeling dull, why did the village have to look so depressing?_

_A sigh escaped Pein's lips as he remembered that they were still wasting time by standing there in silence, this time, to make the lengthy journey much shorter, both Konan and Pein made a hand sign, her mother grabbed onto Kaida's arm and they all soon disappeared in the midst of dark smoke._

* * *

_It was only once they'd re-appeared in that same forest as they usually did that Kaida managed to fight down the excitement of how they quickly they were transported, and she had to admit, that even her real 'Angel' wings stood little hope against this new transportation jutsu that had them appear and disappear like those magical people she'd read in many books as she'd grown up._

_It was just as she was caught up in her own little world, that she hadn't noticed the other presence of chakra that radiated from another, someone to her left._

_Kisame stepped out slowly from behind the trees, not making such a grand entrance, for his feet were dragging slightly from all the extra-walking he'd done to get here on-time, he stopped in front of them, looking bored, though, when his gaze fell onto the girl, his expression quickly turned to that of surprised-looks like this wasn't a joke at all._

_Kaida lifted her head at the looming figure just a few feet away from her, and she was very surprised to see Kisame-just as he was her, but, not so much that, she was just very surprised at his looks, he didn't look human…_

_In fact, none of the Akatsuki members look human, they all had amazing abilities and weapons, that for a moment she felt small compared to the three standing round her, though, she'd never admit that to her mother or Pein, it'd only inflame their ego further, and she couldn't deal with that._

"_Kisame, meet Kaida, she's going to learn from you today." Pein muttered calmly, as if he didn't have a care in the world._

_Kaida ignored his statement and focused on her new teacher for the day, at least, she hoped it was just for a day, she mentally smacked herself when she realised that she was getting a little impatient again._

_Calm down, of course it's going to take a little while to be trained by them, but hey! Who else was alive that could say that they were trained by the infamous criminals of the Akatsuki?_

_Very few could say they had, so really, she was rather lucky, they were so strong and they were helping her, she had a good chance in succeeding into becoming a fine kunoichi, though that would take a lot of work, especially, if she wanted them to recognize her talents._

_She looked her new teacher up-and-down, he was so tall! _

_She looked like a kid in comparison, his hair was a lighter shade of hers, he had small eyes, sharp teeth, pale blue skin and a big-ass sword on his back._

_Kaida couldn't help but stare at her teacher, he was…an ominous entity, she felt her excitement growing again, and her curiosity was more than necessary, but, it weren't as if she'd met him before._

_The blue guy-Kisame, smirked, his sharp teeth showing slightly as he then stated "This little girl is what Itachi got so worked-up about?"_

_The negative comment stung slightly, and she felt her pride and good mood sink, so, he was one of _those_ guys was he?_

_The ones that always belittle someone at every opportunity, the ones that frown and get angry when someone else makes a slight mistake, they were the ones that were hard to communicate with._

"_Kisame, rudeness is not necessary, she's-" Konan was cut off from her calm statement, by her daughter._

"_I'm seventeen. Not a 'little girl'." Kaida stated, crossing her arms across her chest, forcing herself not to shoot her teacher-for-a-day a dirty glare._

_He smirked again, louder this time as he stated "The girl has spunk, I like her."_

_Pein nodded briefly, then muttered "Good. Well, I'll leave you both now, we'll pick her up later, and remember; if you kill her, we kill you-understood?" _

_Kisame snorted, sending a disapproved stare across to the trees to his side, answering with a rude "Fine, whatever."_

_They disappeared once more, hardly surprising her, all they seemed to do was re-appear and disappear just as quick._

_She caught his amused gaze, and she stood up straight, forcing her arms to her sides, despite the difference in height, she knew she could easily remedy that if she chose to take off into the skies, for then he'd be the one looking up at _her_._

"_I haven't seen anyone with wings before, they look the real-deal, but, you're not, are you?" The sneer almost had her jumping over to him and smacking him across the face, she hadn't brought any of this on, if she'd just been simply allowed to leave the Rain village then all this wouldn't have been necessary._

"_I may not be as strong as you, but, I'm still skilled, these wings are only one of my _talents_ that I can use to my advantage." She stated coolly, surprisingly, remaining cool as a cucumber the entire time._

_He raised an eyebrow, then smirked lightly and stated "Small, pretty, rare and rather feisty, I think I'm beginning to like you more and more, you're really full of surprises, aren't you?"_

_She didn't answer that, though, managed to relax herself, he appeared rough around the edges and sent the first wave of accusations like most people did, but, he was blunt and spoke his mind-that, she knew she could admire from her teacher, if nothing more._

"_I hear you've already met, Deidara, Itachi, and obviously Pein and Konan-your mother, right?" The question was sudden, but, this time the pain that hit her heart wasn't anything too traumatic, for she now had her priorities straight, she was going to focus on becoming stronger._

"_Yes, that's right." She answered calmly, with a simple nod of her head._

_He too nodded along, then surprisingly he took a seat on the ground, crossing his legs, he looked at her patiently, and she realised he was expecting her to do the same, so she did._

_Warily, of course, because she had to constantly remind herself that she was in the company of a stranger and a criminal no-less!_

"_Well, my 'lesson' today is; strength, I am one of the strongest in the Akatsuki and have the most chakra reserves, so, by the end of the day you should have learned how to use super-strength. I heard from Deidara and Itachi that your strength is already in-human, but, not to the point of being able to actually kill someone with one punch or kick." He explained calmly, he opened his cloak all the way down, so that it would be easier to sit cross-legged on the floor._

_She gaped at the muscles that were outlined by the net shirt, he must be very strong, obviously carrying that sword around must make it hard to travel, so, he must've built his body up to serve it's purpose, she thought deeply to herself, analysing that she already had her body-shape down to scratch, for she was agile enough, fast enough and maybe not as strong as Kisame may be, but, she was stronger than most shinobi._

_He placed his hands on his knees, nodding to her to do the same, and she did, still curious as to why he was doing this._

"_First, we'll do some meditation, don't wanna' break up too much of a sweat now, do we? And you need to relax your body before attempting to learn anything, a clear mind is always a better one." He stated, before closing his eyes._

_She stared at him for a few moments, wondering if this was some sort of joke, meditation? Since when did the big, scary criminals have time to meditate?_

"_Close your eyes." He commanded, his eyes were still closed, but, obviously he must've felt her staring at him, she gave a small sigh and did as he requested._

"_Take three deep breaths-slowly, and then relax, just listen to everything going on around you-this will also help towards tomorrows lesson too-" She cut him off, opening a curious eye._

"_Tomorrows lesson?" She questioned lightly._

_He nodded very slowly, opening his eyes too and giving her a serious look, he answered "Yeah, you're going up against Hidan, another member, his and Kakuzu's lessons are vital, Hidan is teaching you endurance/stamina tomorrow, so you have to keep a careful eye out for any sneak attacks of his-make sure he doesn't get an ounce of your blood, or he won't hesitate in killing you in one of his weird rituals. Kakuzu is testing your reaction the day after, so, he'll be attacking very much like Hidan-although, their fighting style is different. Oh, and one more thing, don't upset Kakuzu, he's very touchy and won't hesitate in killing you also."_

_She scratched the back of her head, wondering if she'd remember that by tomorrow morning and raising an eyebrow, she asked "Why are you telling me all this?"_

_He grinned at her a little then closed his eyes again, and answered "You're not bad-for a girl, for one thing, you're not annoying like so many others, you're not rude, you don't get shoved around easily, well, mentally you don't and you show your superiors respect, I haven't had respect since…God knows how long, and it's a nice change, plus, I just like you."_

_She nodded lightly, trying to ignore the sudden blush that swept across her cheeks, she'd never been complimented so many times in one paragraph, and she honestly didn't know how to answer, he really weren't that bad after all._

_She closed her eyes also, aiming to not disappoint him any further, she muttered quietly "Thank you."_

_She heard him snort slightly and could've almost sworn that she felt him staring at her, but, by this time she was too focused on her surroundings, she could hear the wind blowing through the trees and grass, she felt it caressing her face, felt how fresh it smelt through her nose, she could hear birds twittering in the distance, singing their songs, a couple of crickets hiding in the grass a little further away._

_She could feel the cold shadows looming over herself from the shade of the trees, she could hear her breathing…and Kisame's breathing also._

_Everything was so calm and relaxed, she knew that if she didn't get up soon, she'd probably fall asleep._

_A twitch came from opposite her, and it caught her attention immediately, still, she kept her eyes closed, rustling, in the grass, but, not from the wind, chakra, huge-way too much chakra suddenly forcing itself upon her calm, empty space, almost suffocating her and nearly clouding her senses-nearly._

_The rustling suddenly stopped, and she hard something flying through the air, quickly now, her wings flapped down as she moved her body to her left, only opening her eyes, when she heard a huge crunch coming from the ground, a couple of metres away from herself._

_Naturally, it was Kisame, and he had his fist planted in the ground, a small crater formed on the ground._

_She lowered her body to the ground, a few centimetres from where she was floating calmly, staring at him in 'awe'._

_He ripped his fist out of the ground, looking down at it, there were very few grazes along his knuckles, nothing too serious, but, would definitely work better with gloves-good thing she always wore a pair._

_He smirked a little, placing a hand on his hip, he stood up straight, towering over her in his monstrous height, making her feel small, insignificant once more._

"_Now, let's begin."_


	10. Faze Ten

_**Faze Ten:**_

_Kaida was surprised by the sheer ferocity of his strength, it had her slightly baffled, she knew there were strong people out there, but not as strong as he was, not strong enough to make craters the size of the small lounge room in her apartment._

_And she knew that she really wanted to learn how to do it, she wanted to learn super-strength. _

_Though she was pretty sure, as he'd hinted at earlier, that she had her own unique, in-human strength, but that was just to be able to lift things three times the weight of her own body, she could also pack a rather nasty punch and kick that would sent her opponent either unconscious or at least five metres away from herself._

_But she wanted to go further._

_She wanted to learn how to make the ground tremble, how to knock down trees with a single blow and how to lift things that were more than three times her weight._

_Kaida felt excitement rush through in bigger waves than before, and it left her speechless, but the huge grin that spread across her face was anything but subtle, and Kisame found himself staring at her slightly confused and rather amused._

"_Wow! That was awesome!" She suddenly exclaimed, and he wondered whether he'd heard her right or not._

_Did she just say his abilities were…'awesome'?_

_That was a first for him, of course he was a good fighter, just as he was expected to be, like the rest of the Akatsuki members, but no one had ever said his abilities were 'awesome'._

_It made him humble, he now didn't regret the four day journey it'd taken to get here at top-speed from Konoha where he originally had been with Itachi, except, Itachi had to leave before him to meet Kaida a day before him._

_She was an odd-one that was for sure. _

_Kisame beckoned her closer to him by wagging a finger towards himself, she instantly obeyed, she didn't have far to walk to get to his side, and once there, she looked up at him with those questioning orange eyes of hers, so bright they were, that Kisame reminded himself not to stare._

_He turned from her, to face a few tall trees, they were thick and probably of the few tallest trees within the whole forest itself._

_He smirked, causing Kaida to raise an eyebrow in curiosity, it was obvious he was up to something, though she weren't too sure what it was at that moment, she gave a mental shrug, watching him with keen eyes, making sure not to miss a thing._

_He clenched his right fist tightly, glancing at her, he muttered "Build-up chakra in your hand, like this-" and then all of a sudden she could see the blue chakra emanating round his hand, the glow reminded her of an intense flame, that when shot at in such force, it turned pure blue, though this appeared a toned-down version and it definitely was not a flame, else his hand would've been burnt by now._

_She nodded, signalling she understood-having already known this, she hadn't used chakra in just her hand before._

_He continued "Now, watch closely."_

_She was about to nod again, when suddenly he sprang from her side towards the tree in great speed, lifting his fist high, he smashed it into the trees trunk, almost faster than the eyes could see, but she managed to catch all of it._

_And as expected, the trees trunk cracked loudly from where Kisame's fist was implanted, creating a massive crater-like dent into the trees hard wood, the cracks were made louder as the tree suddenly began swaying ever so slightly in the air, before finally it took the plunge and feel, but was soon caught in the branches of other trees, preventing it from falling to the ground._

_All this took no more than ten seconds to accomplish, and that was amazing, to be able to knock a tree down with your bare fist and it collapses within ten seconds-that's what you call skill._

_Kaida felt the task suddenly daunt upon her happy mood though, this was so easy and looked so easy when Kisame did it, and he's had years of experience to back this point up, but she'd never used super-strength before today-despite her having in-human strength within her, she didn't see this as a good thing, this just meant she had to work hard still, no matter how skilled her in-human strength already was, it was nowhere near as frightening as this wondrous power that left her stood there gaping at the result._

_She watched him straighten up, his smirk growing bigger, he brushed the few pieces of wood that were left on his knuckles, once again a few grazes had made their claim upon him, something she was glad wouldn't happen to her, considering she had gloves on already._

_Turning to her, he stated "Now I want to see you try."_

_He walked over to her, but remained a few paces away from her, not wanting to get too close if this were her first time practising super-strength._

_She gave a small, curt nod, clenching her fingers in her right hand into a small fist by her side as she did this, lifting it up, she stared at her hand, as she focused hard on trying to get the blow light to emit round her hand, this she knew, wouldn't take too long, for she'd done it before, when she'd mastered how to control chakra through her mouth and hands for her wind-type jutsu, also the small balls of light that she could release from her mouth and cup within her hands, proved she was more than a rookie at controlling chakra._

_And as she thought of this, her chakra flared within her fist and fixated around it carefully, Kisame watched and was a little surprised that she was already able to summon chakra to her hands-this he'd thought would take at least a couple of hours to master, but, it appeared that she needed no guidance in that area._

_She smiled at her hand, before lifting her face and sending the warm smile to him, and she asked "What do I do next?"_

_Despite her having a fairly decent idea of what to do next, she knew it was best to ask her teacher-for-the-day, in case he'd done things differently when he'd first started out._

_It seemed so, for when her determined gaze fell upon one of the big trees that Kisame had just completely snapped in half with one punch, he shook his head, catching her attention, he chuckled lightly and stated "Just because you've already mastered how to control chakra in your hand, does not mean you're ready to go punching anything, you need to crawl before you walk, there's no rush, thanks to you already knowing how to control chakra in your hand, this saves us a couple of hours, but first, you're going to have to start on some small boulders-"_

_Her groan of disappointment did not go unheard, and he took no offence to this, he actually found it rather amusing, instead, he smirked loudly and stated "Don't be in such a rush to crush your hand, girly."_

_She sent him a look of shock, and this time, he did laugh, only to look at her with that steely gaze of his, as if he were still analysing everything about her, trying to decide what to think of her, whether she was good enough or not._

_He waved a hand at her, showing that he didn't care much about that minor technicality that he forgot to mention before now._

"_It's true, if you charge in and attempt to cause serious damage with one blow on one of your first tries, then the chakra in your hand will force itself out and with the impact on the surface of whatever you're hitting will crush your hand, meaning; you'll never be able to use it ever again." _

_Kaida felt a small shiver skitter down her spine, reminding herself not to charge in and do just that, she'd have to take it slow, like he'd said, for she wouldn't be surprised if he'd laugh so hard if she did smash her hand to pieces, he wouldn't be worried at all…at least she didn't think he would, he didn't look the type to huddle around anyone who's injured themselves and gush words of sympathy and caring to anyone._

_She was pretty sure that if he did, she'd be really freaked-out, it'd just be too out-of-character for him._

_She sighed in defeat, and then walked over to a small boulder a few metres behind his back, his body turning to watch her every move, it seemed as though he didn't trust her, and she couldn't blame, she didn't exactly trust him either, they were both strangers, so it weren't anything to be offended or shocked about._

"_Is this one alright?" She asked calmly, looking over her shoulder at him, trying to remind herself not to think about the difference in their height, it seemed that almost all the Akatsuki were taller than her, though Deidara weren't too much taller than her, only by a few inches at best, but she was still taller than most kunoichi, so she didn't let it rub-in too much._

_He still had that amused smirk on his face, and he nodded once, still watching her from where he stood, and it seemed he hadn't even glanced at the boulder once to see if it was alright for her, he was just staring at her all the time, watching her every move, as if making sure she did everything without fail._

_Paranoid much? Was all that she could think of to not let his staring get to her, no matter how rude it was, she was not going to start an argument or a debate with him, when she had plenty with her mother and Pein._

_She turned her head round and she faced the boulder once more, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, this boulder was half her size, and probably just about three times her weight, this, she was sure, wouldn't be such a problem for her, perhaps she didn't even need to use the extra-chakra in her hand after all?_

_She mentally shrugged it off, knowing she'd regret hitting the boulder without the extra-chakra and learn that it was more than she was capable of, she'd end up smashing her hand-no problem without using the extra-chakra and Kisame would be in fits of laughter, he might even roll around on the floor, now that, would be a funny sight to see!_

_She raised her fist, just as Kisame had done, and just like she was used to hitting things, she charged her fist down in a bid to smash it to pieces of rubble, and well, she did smash it, but only forming a crater like Kisame had done-though much smaller, considering the size of the object she was hitting and it sent cracks all down the sides, into the middle, she sighed in irritation and confusion, straightening up, she looked down at her fist with confused eyes._

_She flexed her fingers and found that it was alright, no real damage had been made, there weren't any horrible tingling in her hand, but instead, it seemed that she hadn't put enough chakra into hitting the boulder…?_

_Kaida heard Kisame move towards her, she looked up at him, his expression serious, and he grabbed her hand within his, staring at it, he began rubbing his fingers along her right hand, she blushed lightly, and didn't dare look to meet his gaze, she knew he wouldn't suddenly come over and start touching her randomly when just a few minutes ago he was teasing her, then again, he could just be like Itachi with his random bursts of closeness._

"_You didn't do it wrong, but you didn't do it right…" He muttered calmly, and she glanced at him timidly, he still looked serious, though she was still confused._

_She looked at her hand in his huge one, and watched him curl her fingers into a fist, holding it tightly within his own for no more than a couple of seconds, before pulling his hand away, he took a step from her and more to the side, clenching his own fist, he stated "You need to add more chakra to your hand and you need to hit the object hard, make sure you keep the same flow of chakra whilst doing this."_

_She watched him focus on releasing the chakra around his hand, the blue glow began to emanate from his clenched fist, she watched him for a few moments, then got herself to do the same, using the same hand once more, she focused on the chakra to fixate around her fist, it took a few seconds, and when it did, she looked back-and-forth between her fist and Kisame's._

_He watched her silently as she made the comparison, his chakra was more sharp and more of a deep colour than hers was, hers was more faint and looked…rather weak, this made her grit her teeth, for she was used to sending weak amounts of chakra to her hands, for it didn't take much to use wind to her ability, well, because she wasn't human, it certainly made 'air-bending' all that much more easier, where as for others, it took them years to accomplish that._

_She mentally smacked a hand to her head, it looked as though she was going to have to spend some time learning how to control chakra again-just to be sure and get this whole super-strength-thing right._

* * *

"_Her aim has improved. That is at least some** good**__ news, but I want to see more results! It's already been four days since she's arrived-and so far, she's only learnt to throw some kunai without missing!" The deep, scrutinizing voice of Madara resounded through the walls of the dark office where Pein and Konan were currently situated._

_Konan was stood to Pein's left, whilst he was sat in his huge, leather chair, both facing Madara._

_To say they were uncomfortable was an understatement, and no matter how much money Pein could spend or how comfortable a chair could be, nothing could ease the tension from his body that was as tight as a cord._

_It was worse for Konan, she had to stand up, and her frame was easy enough to know from one glance that she was uncomfortable, standing up straight, hardly moving._

_Madara was idly flitting around the room, like a squirrel barely making it's mind up about which tree to climb, he was not interested in anything within the room itself, he just kept moving around the room, sometimes coming close to the desk, indicating that his annoyance was rising, other times he'd be over near the door, signalling that he was calm, and a couple of times he'd be almost in their faces, nearly shouting at them-despite how close they were, this obviously showed his anger._

_Madara stopped suddenly in the middle of the room, glancing at them sideways from where he was stood, muttering "She is with Kisame now? Learning super-strength?"_

_He cleared his throat and turned his body to face them, he came forward slowly taking his time, as if deliberately slowing his steps so that he could make them wait out the dreaded silence, wondering what he was going to do next._

_He stopped before the desk, though appearing to be in deep thought, he was merely studying their postures through the small eyehole, his Sharingan blaring at them from within the darkness of the office._

"_Hmm…There always seems to be some good news with more bad, she is learning vital assets to make her abilities more curved and much better cared for, but it __**is**__ taking up time…" He stated, lifting a hand and placing it upon the desk in front of Pein, he began stroking the wood with his gloved-hand, as if petting an animal._

_Though they were in some confusion, why was Madara getting so worked-up now? Hadn't he already stated that they shouldn't pressure her too much? Was it he who'd said to take their time and train her properly?_

_Why was he now suddenly in a rush?_

_It seemed that Madara caught onto their thoughts, for he'd stopped stroking the wood of the desk, his hand rested upon the wood, not moving, he straightened up properly, glaring down at them both, he declared loudly "I have a mission ready for Kaida as soon as she's finished training with each member, I will give you more details nearer the time, but, I want you-" Madara focused his dark gaze upon Pein, then continued "to make sure all the other members know that her training is vital, you may tell them she has to be ready for a mission as soon as they have each trained with her and been acquainted with her properly, but I want them all to put every ounce of patience, time and energy into making sure she's ready."_

_Pein glanced to Konan, she wasn't looking at him, but at the wall behind Madara, probably hoping he'd just go through the door and disappear, he looked back and with a small sigh, he gave a curt nod and muttered "Very well, I will call a meeting this evening, as soon as Kaida has gone back to her apartment."_

_Madara nodded his head, turning from them, he seemed pleased by this answer and had no objections to it, he walked calmly to the window, watching the rain falling down and pattering against the window, the dark skies made everywhere look dull._

"_Konan," Madara called, and on the other side of the room, Konan's breath caught in her throat, she panicked slightly, before calming herself, she wasn't alone in Madara's company, and he seemed calm at the moment, all she had to do was make sure she didn't anger him again._

_She rounded the desk, her movements stiff, her face strained as she stood a few metres behind Madara, she asked "Yes?"_

_He glanced at her over his shoulder, his Sharingan shining at her through the dark office, threatening her to do as he says, or else._

"_I want you to find out what Kaida's secret abilities are, she isn't human, correct?"_

_Konan nodded once, still not breaking away from his hard gaze, if she did, he'd think she was lying to him._

"_That's…interesting, I want you to find out what her 'Kekkei Genkai' is…if you could call it that," Madara turned to face her now, and looking from Konan to Pein, his gaze settled upon Konan once more and he stated "She isn't human, she isn't like us, she is very different from us, and I want to know what abilities she possesses, it's something we need to make sure it won't expose us to greatly, she's your daughter, so you should have some inkling as to what her powers are?"_

_Konan lowered her eyes now, she couldn't stand the intensity of Madara's Sharingan, the accusing look in his eye, it made her shiver, and to make sure she didn't collapse to the ground weeping, she had to remove her gaze and focus on something else, this would, at least ease her nerves._

"_From what I can remember, she can talk to any specie of bird and can create small balls of light that she can control."_

_Madara made a 'Hmm' sound, half-turning from her, he appeared deep in thought once more, and Konan now lifted her head, waiting for his answer._

_It didn't take long to wait, for after five minutes, he spoke again "This is indeed very rare and intriguing, but that was when she was a child, she's probably enhanced her abilities by now, I still want you to find out what she is capable of, it's essential that we should know, understood?"_

_The brisk tone of his voice, had her spine snapping straight once more, and she nodded a few times, answering "Yes, I understand."_

_Madara nodded once more, seeming pleased by their co-operation, he knew that they wouldn't fail him, they never did, that's how much they appreciate their lives, he wouldn't tolerate failure of any kind, being immortal and watching the world drift by slowly was what had made his impatience grow, but he'd managed to be patient up until recently, no matter how long it took for him to achieve his goal, he would wait a little while longer, after all, what was time when ones self was able to live on forever?_

_He smirked loudly under his mask, his thoughts weren't recognised or registered by his comrades in the office, he turned away from the window, slowly walking past Konan and towards the door, though he had no intention of using it._

_Pein watched him carefully as the true leader of the Akatsuki made his way to the door, not speaking a word, Konan didn't even look over her shoulder at him, she was already upset with having the task of needing to get a little closer to her daughter in order to find out more information about her._

_Why couldn't one of the other Akatsuki do it? Why her?_

_Konan bit her lip and knew that Madara only chose her because he enjoys watching people squirm, he enjoys making others suffer needlessly, all because of _his_ goals and _his_ wants, he was deliberately toying with her, and she hated it so much, though refused to give him the reaction he longed for, choosing instead, to remain calm and poised._

_Madara stopped by the door, and he glanced at them casually, but the threat he now sent to them was in no way casual "No mistakes, or _**else**_."_

_And then he disappeared within a nanosecond, the both had to blink to notice that he'd left the office, his chakra had disappeared completely, he'd left._

_Pein let out a heavy sigh, the atmosphere was no longer intense with worry of doing or saying something that one particular individual didn't like, they were now left to do as they please._

"_Konan?" Pein asked quietly, as he stood up, she turned to him, still not smiling, for she was shaken and very upset again, this always happened every time Madara's presence had left._

_Pein held our his hand, and she, walked over to him resting her hand in his, he drew her close to him, they both faced the window, watching the rain patter against the window, silently, both not saying anything about Madara's new orders, for there was no point, nothing could be done to change his mind, when he'd made an order, they had to do it, no matter the sacrifice._

_Konan leaned her head against his shoulder and let out her own long sigh, feeling secure and relaxed within her lover's embrace._

"_Don't fret, my love, we should just get it all over with as soon as possible, then we won't have _him_ on our backs." Pein muttered, not looking away from the rain, at least this, he knew, would never change, at least this, he could count on, the weather and his lover, at least them, he knew, would never betray him for the world._

_Konan nodded slightly "He's such a slave-driver." _

_Her answer to this held no humour, but it made Pein smile, just very lightly, he agreed._


	11. Faze Eleven

_**Faze Eleven:**_

_For the sixth time that morning, Kaida smashed her fist down into a boulder around the same height as the first one she'd practised on._

_She was slowly getting the hang of it, this time the boulder actually split in half, fell apart in a crumpled heap upon the floor by her feet, this was much better than what happened the first time, and she actually smiled in a small triumph-this was at least something, and she was rather proud of herself for her recent achievement._

_She glanced over her shoulder at her teacher, she saw him nod in approval, though, he was still wearing that smirk of his, what was so funny?_

_She couldn't understand, was it because she took great delight in showing how proud she was of her rather meagre talents-compared to his?_

_She rolled her eyes mentally, well, who cares?_

_She's going to become the best of the best…or, so she hoped._

"_Good, just need to keep practising, and then you can try on a bigger one." Kisame stated, yawning into his hand, he detached his sword, resting it against the tree opposite her, he bent down and leaned against it, ah, it was nice to sit down…_

_Kaida thought that at least he weren't standing and staring at her, like he'd been doing ever since they'd started, but now, he was sat down, and if she didn't know any better, she'd say that he would fall asleep anytime soon._

_This annoyed her, though, she didn't let it show, well, it's alright for him to laze about, but, she had to keep training her butt off._

_Well, if he did fall asleep, then she'd just have to focus on achieving her goal-which for the moment, was; finish today's training._

_She walked off to another boulder, similar in height to the one which she'd just destroyed, she could see Kisame staring at her through half-lidded eyes, oh, so that's how he's going to be?_

_How rude of him to fall asleep in someone else's company!_

_She'd show him!_

_She focused the chakra into her hand, the blue light bursted around her fist like a flame, it was intense and lifting her fist up like she'd see Kisame do, she smashed her clenched fist into the small-ish boulder._

_A huge tremor ran through the ground, causing Kisame's eyes to snap open, he stood up and walked over to Kaida's trembling form, did she end up breaking her fist?_

_It would be serious if she did, she'd need immediate medical attention, and she'd never be able to fight with that hand ever again, he should've been watching more closely, Pein will have his head for this…_

"_What have you done now, Girlie?" He asked, a little worried, since it could be his death for the price of this 'accident'._

_He got to her side, and stood there, staring down at where the boulder used to be in surprise, it wasn't there anymore, only tiny crumpled pieces of rock remained and a small crater from the impact, she'd actually managed to destroy the rock and make a hole in the ground, not bad…for a rookie._

_He glanced at her shivering form, she weren't crying or shocked, she was dead excited, shaking in happiness, and he took a step back from her, just in case she decided to hug or hit something._

_Though, as usual, he couldn't suppress the toothy grin as he muttered "Not bad, girlie, you did good, but you've still a long way to go yet,"_

_Kaida acknowledged this, and felt her good mood sink, her shoulders fell, as her happiness deflated immediately, she hung her head and groaned loudly, it'd taken her this long to get to a 'reasonable' level, well, to the point where she could at least crush a boulder and make a small hole in the ground with her fist, but, it weren't enough, she really wanted to crush bigger boulders than this puny little thing._

"_By the way…what made you get so focused all of a sudden?" Kisame couldn't but asking, pursing his lips, he then made a 'popping' sound, before licking his lips._

_Kaida felt her embarrassment grow, she really-_really _didn't want to admit to him that she was trying to prove herself that she wasn't a 'waste-of-space', that he shouldn't feel the need to fall asleep in her presence-especially, when he's supposed to be training her._

_She sighed, swallowing her pride, she answered truthfully "I wanted to prove to you that I am a hard-working student…and I guess, when you almost fell asleep back there, it sort of made me a little annoyed…to say the least."_

_Was that really necessary? _

_Stop yammering on, he'll get fed-up with you! Kaida scolded herself for letting her mouth run off with her, but, at least, she answered truthfully._

_He looked rather taken aback by this statement, he then got a huge smirk across his face, placing a big hand upon her head, he ruffled her hair-much to her annoyance, and stated "Well, you did good, girlie, now you just need to get angry every time you want to hit something,"_

_Kaida gave a sarcastic "Ha-ha."_

_His hand dropped away, and clenched into a fist, both his hands met together under his chin and he began smiling creepily, as he stated "Oh, you'll have to think of me every time you want to hit something-I'm so honoured!"_

_Erm…fan-boy much? And wasn't thinking about someone when hitting something a bad-thing?_

_Kaida shook her head in disapproval, earning another smirk from her gigantic teacher, as he gave her a small push, he turned to walk back to his tree, saying "Okay, now go ahead and try punching a slightly bigger boulder, see how you fair with that."_

_Kaida frowned when he sat back down again, leaning against the tree-what was with his fixation on a tree?_

_He's definitely _not_ the enthusiastic teacher she was hoping for! Kaida sighed, feeling rather depressed, but, knew deep-down that he was just toying with her, he was doing this on purpose, and like the 'gullible' person she was, she'd take the bait._

* * *

_The room was dark, the walls a deep red, though, this time, not in blood, this was the natural wall colour, the grey-ish light was shut out from entering and glistening upon the two naked bodies lain on the bed rocking together in a tight embrace._

_A long, loud, breathy moan escaped Konan's lips as her body shook with her sixth orgasm that Pein had been more than generous in allowing her to cum._

_He licked his way up her soft neck, nibbling here-and-there, but, clever enough not to leave hickeys anywhere, there was no need to parade their claim upon each other, and it wouldn't be very wise to disgust Madara and Kaida with the proof of their love-making._

_It was after a few moments, that Pein too, let out a deep, long moan, he reached his peak and filled his lover with his warmth, before, collapsing next to her, trying to catch his breath, they both lay there, next to each other, drained of energy for some long minutes, before, Pein sits up and stares across at the other side of the room quietly, seeming to be fixated upon the bookcase, full of many genre's and ranges of books, all of which, he'd long-since read many times before in his free-time._

"_What's wrong?" Konan asked quietly from where she lay, she noticed his sudden quietness, and the feeling that he'd just grown distant, despite how intimate they were less than ten minutes before-hand._

_He didn't answer her immediately, he tried to think of how to arrange the question, without hurting her, the last-thing he needed to do after breaking his only promise to her, was causing her more pain._

_Then again, that's what they'd endured, they'd both endured pain together since they were young, they'd learned to embrace it, and eventually work through it, and they wanted to end the pain and suffering, but, in reality, they were causing more pain-this thought, however, never passed Pein, he didn't need to re-think his actions, better yet, he never re-thought on any actions Akatsuki did, he only thought over the consequences, but he didn't need too._

_He was a God._

_His opinion and word were law in his country, no one defied him or disagreed with him, because, he was simply correct, he was never wrong, he was the best, no one could be better at running a country than he had._

_Even Konan would vouch for him-though, that too, was hardly surprising._

_He let out a small sigh, then asked "Who is…Kaida's father?"_

_There was a very long silence, but Pein could wait, he was patient, unlike Madara, he cared for his lover, and would wait, but then, even waiting had it's limits, for now he looked at her with those grey-ringed eyes of his, trying to see if he could read anything in her face-or if perhaps, she'd heard him at all._

_But she had, he could tell, by reading the hurt that was written in hr features, were deep, she'd been scarred with the thought, but, even when he'd offered to take Konan away many years ago, he still never knew who the father was._

_She avoided his gaze, she didn't know how to answer, or what to say, but she knew if she answered truthfully, Pein would be more than very shocked, and then Madara would have something to laugh about later, he'd always been in the background, snickering at her misfortune-that was Madara altogether._

"_What is it? You can tell me…" He muttered, turning to face her, he brushed a hand along her arm, she felt cold to touch, and she was shivering, she looked scared, why was she scared? What was she hiding from him? _

_He let out a long sigh, placing his arms around her shivering form, he rested his head back against the pillow, he heard her eventually sigh, placing her head upon his chest, relishing in his embrace, she answered in a depressed tone of voice "I will tell you some other time."_

_He didn't answer her, but, he also didn't press her any further, he knew she'd tell him sometime, he just had to wait, she was still reeling from the shock of the sudden appearance of her long-lost daughter, which he'd been promised was dead._

_Then again, accidents happen and stranger things have happened before._

_But he _will _get the truth out of her eventually, that, he'd make sure of._

* * *

"_Hiyaaa!" Kaida let out a cry as she smashed her fist down into a boulder that was five-times her size and seven times her weight since it was long and very high._

_The instant her fist connected with the boulder, it too, crumpled to pieces, and Kisame was stood leaning against another tree, almost speechless._

_The day had gone by very quickly, but, Kaida had made tremendous progress, she'd been practising non-stop, except for a drink break, not having anything to eat, she'd pushed herself and her determination, now she had finally pulled through, and intrigued Kisame, he was rather surprised at how serious she'd gotten within the space of half-an-hour, and the difference was obvious._

_Kisame had thought she'd never succeed and would have to meet up with him again to practise, but like Itachi had told him, she was a fast-learner, so fast, that what would've taken three weeks to master, she only took one-day._

_She'd mastered super-strength, she was at his level in strength, though, that depended solely on how much chakra was used, but she'd made it, and she'd certainly impressed him, he had to tell Leader of her progress, she was an excellent student, she was never rude, always showed respect to her superiors-even if she didn't want to show it, she was keen to learn and very cooperative, she wasn't difficult at all, she'd actually got on and did it with little fuss possible._

_He really liked the Angel._

_And that was rare, as seeming as he barely held any interest in women, since he'd always thought they were a deceiving kind of person, but this made him see things differently._

_She was a good kid, and with an attitude like hers, she could go quite far and he knew with a deep satisfied sigh, that he meant every word of it._

"_How was that?!" She gasped, looking over her shoulder at him, a huge grin on her face, sweat was slowly running down her face and her eyes were shining brightly, he could see that she was exhausted, she'd worked very hard._

_He smiled; a genuine smile, and nodded once, muttering "You did good, girlie, you passed."_

_She turned around and threw her arms up in the air, exclaiming loudly "Yes!"_

_He smirked at her enthusiasm, but, his smirk soon changed when he saw her sway on her feet, putting a shaky hand to her forehead, she muttered "Oh…I feel…weird…"_

_And then she fell, he should've seen it coming, but, he'd been too caught up in her obvious victory, that it'd caught him off-guard. _

_It was just before he could catch her from hitting the ground, a puff of smoke appeared and Pein was there, holding the Angel against him._

_Kisame straightened and let out a small breath of air, relaxing now that his student was safe, at least she didn't fall and hit her head on the sharp rocks that'd come out from her crushing so many._

_Pein looked down at the weak girl in his arms, seeing her completely drained, pale and sweating like she had a terrible fever made him raise an eyebrow in question, how had she allowed herself to get to such extremes?_

_He lifted his gaze and gave Kisame a stern stare as he stated "I thought I'd told you not to risk her life?"_

_Kisame hearing the anger in the question; snorted, half-turning from him, as he went and grabbed his sword, placing it upon his back once more where it always seemed to be, he answered with a casual glance "Actually, you only told me not to kill her."_

_Leader glared at him, then snapped "And you didn't think to feed her?!"_

_Kisame shrugged lightly, then lifted a hand and began rubbing it against the back of his neck-as if he'd been the one vigorously training out in the heat, he answered calmly "With what? I didn't bring anything with me, and the nearest river is at least a mile from here, a small town being completely on the other side of this forest, it'd waste time, you should seriously think about her bringing something to eat, we can handle it, but obviously, she's used to stopping for food."_

"_I don't need you to give me a lecture on _that_, Kisame, however, I will take it into consideration on her part, we can't have her fainting like this tomorrow or the next, when she'll be learning from Hidan and Kakuzu, they won't give her a chance to pass-out." Leader hissed loudly, before his gaze softened a little, seeing the girl very weak like this almost made him…want to help her, shaking his head mentally, he too half-turned from Kisame, lifting the limp girl into his arms, making it more easier to carry her and then he asked "How did her training go?"_

_Kisame smacked himself in the head mentally, of all the things he could forget!_

_He grinned, showing off his sharp teeth in his jaw, his head turning to Leader once more as he answered almost happily "She did very well, considering this was her first time learning how to use super-strength, though, there's something you might want to watch out for…"_

_Pein glanced up at the blue man from the girl, and raising an eyebrow, he asked "And what would that be?"_

"_She seems to learn things much more faster than the average Shinobi, what she learned today would've taken her three weeks in the least to master, yet, she got it down right in one day-" Pein cut Kisame off as he stated "She did already have strength before, so perhaps it is nothing to be too surprised about."_

"_No. I saw her strength, before she mastered super-strength, it was very terrible, untrained, she couldn't even smash a puny rock half her size, but now, she can smash a mountain with her bare fist and it will crack into pieces, she's a fast-learner and is keen to succeed, she's learned a lot today, so I'm not surprised that she fainted, perhaps you should let her have tomorrow off?" Kisame allowed the light question to hang in the air, and he knew as he met Pein's stern gaze once more, that, that wouldn't be happening._

_Kisame sighed loudly, and Pein looked down at the girl once more, stating "She needs to learn things as quickly as possible, there will be no exceptions-"_

"_Sorry to cut in, but, what exactly must she be 'trained for'? The poor girl is exhausted, the least we could do is give her a day to recover-" Kisame was cut off by Leader's snarl as he turned on Kisame with such a glare that he wondered whether looks could really kill._

"_I will make the decisions Kisame, she is my subordinate, and she will be trained under everyone to raise her skills, so that as soon as she's ready, I can send her on missions and get her familiarised with the type of work and cooperation I expect from her."_

_Kisame just stared at Pein, silently, for he knew there was something going on, he knew Leader was reacting strangely, normally, he was rather calm and very poised-especially in front of others, but, this?_

_This was messed up, Pein was on-edge lately, hard-pressed for results, but, for what?_

_Who for?_

_Why couldn't he just let the girl have one meagre day off from training? It's not as if Hidan and Kakuzu would complain…much, but at least it gave her time to be fully rested for the next day._

_His Leader could be so confusing at times, that's why he always tried to stay on his good side, but of late, that didn't seem to be working._

_Kisame sighed, and muttered in defeat "Yes, of course."_

_Pein stared at Kisame for a few more moments, then turned, carrying the girl, he called to the blue-man "Thank you for your help, Kisame, it is appreciated, I will be contacting you later for a meeting and I will get in contact with you when I wish for you to train Kaida again."_

_And then he disappeared._

* * *

_He re-appeared back outside Kaida's apartment, once again it was raining, but he was in no hurry, especially, when he saw Konan stood outside her daughter's apartment, he knew she'd been waiting for them to return and she rushed to him at once, seeing the unconscious girl in his arms._

"_What happened?" She asked, almost in concern, but he shook his head, he should know better, she didn't love her daughter, not like he'd seen so many families in his country act towards each other, she was probably wondering-hoping whether Kaida was dead or not._

"_She over-exerted herself and she fainted." Pein answered simply, with a nod of his head, and he continued walking over to Kaida's apartment, this time, with Konan walking alongside him, she kept shooting glances of curiosity at her daughter and then asked "And she will be fine?"_

_Pein looked once at his lover, but seeing her eyes glued to the wet floor, he looked back in front of him and answered calmly "Yes, she will live."_

_He stopped outside of the door, nodding towards Konan to open it, she lifted a hand and melded paper together to form that of a key, she knew many locks around Pein's building-he was the Kage after all, and in case of emergency, they could wait and trap their opponent in one of the buildings next to the Kage's building-this, had been done many times before and was very successful._

_She unlocked the door and pushed it open for Pein to step in, and he did, not bothering to wipe his feet or take his zori off, instead, he trod on the floorboards with damp shoes that he knew, would leave small puddles since he could hear them squelch upon the wood surface._

_He opened the door to her room, seeing that much of it hadn't changed since the Angel had arrived, he went to the bed and placed her down upon it, turning to Konan, he nodded at her and muttered "I'll leave you to look after her."_

_Konan hesitated before she gave a curt nod, knowing that she really didn't want to do this task, she also knew that Pein couldn't do it, he was a man, and Kaida was a young girl, it wouldn't be right._

_What if Kaida woke up whilst he was tending to her?_

_She felt that over-protectiveness that she'd thought had died years ago well-up within her once more, though, she told herself it was something completely different, like indigestion, not only that, but, she felt jealousy flare as well, she wouldn't allow anyone else to have Pein, especially not her daughter. _

_Though, in reality, she had nothing to worry about, since Kaida was barely even civil to the older man._

_Pein noticed Konan to be deep in thought, ignoring this, he was about to move away, but, something caught his eye, he turned and saw upon the side-table next to the bed what looked to be a journal or diary of some sort, though he weren't to sure…_

_He leaned over it, wondering whether to pick it up or not, after inspecting the outer cover, he could feel some small chakra emanating from the book itself, and he knew there was a protective barrier on it or something that would ensure that no one would open the book._

_He straightened, still staring at the book, he couldn't help but be a little surprised, since it weren't everyday that a girl would put a protective barrier of some sort around her journal, it led him to wonder whether her abilities were more stronger than Konan had made them seen when she'd spoken to Madara._

_Motioning to Konan, he nodded towards the book and commanded "Do not touch that book if you value being able to use your muscles effectively. That book has some barrier or jutsu of some kind protecting it, don't touch it."_

_Konan nodded once, glancing at the book, then back at her daughter, she sighed, and when she looked back up she saw that Pein had disappeared, leaving her alone with her daughter._


	12. Faze Twelve

_**Faze Twelve:** _

"_Here we are again, 'whoopee-fucking-do!'" The magenta-eyed man spoke through the cave in his virtual-like form, his eyes screwed-up in anger._

_The others tactfully ignored him, whilst his partner, the green-eyed, tall man; Kakuzu, gave him a side-ways glance, that signalled boredom, though, with such a high-spirited partner, you never know what sort of thing would happen next._

"_Hidan, that language is not necessary." Pein; their leader spoke up from where he stood, on the right thumb of the statue, preparing himself for the onslaught of curses heading his way, since he knew Hidan had a tendency to ignore his orders and often acted on his own-despite him being a recent member._

"_Whatever! Why the fuck have we been summoned again?!" Hidan snarled in annoyance, whilst another tall man with a huge sword upon his back; Kisame, rolled his eyes in boredom, if anything he hated these 'gatherings' as much as the next member, but it really got on his nerves when a particular guy wouldn't stop complaining about it non-stop._

"_I intend to make this a brief meeting," Pein sent Hidan a contemptuous look, that made him shut his mouth, having nothing left to say to this-since he was the one delaying the meeting, from his left-side, Kakuzu smirked under his mask, oh, hw he relished at the idea of Hidan being made silent._

"_As I was saying; the matter of training our subordinate, Kaida, has become something of a necessity, she has rare abilities, but, I want her trained properly, I will have no slacking off, she needs to be trained and ready for a mission, if she dies, then I will make those responsible wish they'd tried harder, understood?"_

_They all nodded silently, their own questions running through their minds in curiosity, though, didn't doubt the underlying threat._

"_And Hidan, you won't be training her tomorrow, it'll be the day after now." Pein confirmed with a nod of his own head, as if to make the decision final._

"_What the fuck?! I've been travelling for three fucking days and nights to train the stupid bitch, and she won't even show up?!" Hidan began complaining loudly-again, much to the annoyance of others around him._

"_Hidan, shut up." Kakuzu muttered from his side, quite calmly, not sounding that bothered, but his body was tense and his eyes screwed-up in annoyance for having to put up with Hidan's complaining all the time, looking at the other members, he knew they had it good, he wished he could've at least had a partner that would shut his mouth for more than thirty seconds at a time, even in his sleep Hidan cursed, spoke and snored-it weren't no surprise that Kakuzu was always cranky._

"_Hell, no bastard!" Hidan snapped, turning to face Kakuzu, sending him a glare, annoyed that even his partner wouldn't stick up for him…or well, back him up when he proved a point._

"_Hidan!" Leader's bellow almost made everyone jump, since being in a cave didn't help that it echoed throughout, Hidan groaned to himself and turned round to face him, folding his arms across his chest, he began sulking to himself._

"_Kaida is unable to train with you tomorrow, since she collapsed during her training earlier, I will not have her overexert herself unnecessarily, she needs rest, you shouldn't complain since this gives you the perfect opportunity to catch up on some of your own needs." Leader stated, refraining himself from rubbing his forehead, already feeling a headache at the recesses of his mind, this happened every time, no matter how quick he tried to make their meetings, it always ended up an hour longer than it should've been._

"_Kaida is sick, hmm?" Deidara spoke-up for the first time, worry running through him at the thought, since he thought the Angel to be rather healthy when he last saw her. _

_If he were to be honest with himself, he hadn't been able to sleep properly at night, having known that she'd trained under Itachi had made him nervous, since they were rivals, and if anything, Itachi didn't dawdle, much like Sasori, he also knew the Uchiha wouldn't hold back. _

_But, to discover she'd collapsed during training was something completely different, it brought on a whole new worry for him, since he didn't want to find that possibly his only friend would die before him, he just didn't want either of them to die in general._

_Itachi glanced over at Deidara, seeing how concerned the blond was for the Angel's health set something off within him, he couldn't decide what it was, but it was some strong _emotion_ that made him just want to punch the cocky blond in the face. _

_However, in some sense he felt rather relieved that she had other…friends, if that's what you'd call them._

_Pein noticed his concern also, and answered calmly "She just pushed herself, that's all, nothing life-threatening, though, it will turn to something serious if she doesn't take it easy."_

_Hidan snorted in annoyance, seeing this as more of a task than a decent chance to meet the Angel, with Hidan everything had suddenly turned to a task, even getting up in the mornings pissed him off-since he weren't a morning person, this often had him waving his fist at the bright sun, cursing at the cheerful birds that were singing away and almost killing anyone that was smiling around him. _

_Kakuzu sighed at his partner's attitude, he thought he'd be used to it by now, but sometimes, his patience was tested._

"_The brat should take care of her health more, we don't need repeats of this, if she faints during my 'lesson', I don't think I will be able to stop myself from killing the insolent brat." The small man with the gruff voice; Sasori, hissed coldly, receiving a glare from Pein, which he returned with little effort._

_Sasori, of course, always hated waiting around for others, he'd rather do things as quickly as possible, he hated people in general, he also had a huge dislike to anyone that insulted his art, much like Deidara often did, it surprised him that the brat hadn't died already._

"_Argh! Shut up, Danna! She's not a 'brat', hmm!" Deidara snapped, folding his arms, and rolling his eyes dramatically, as if to emphasize something, he really didn't like Sasori at times, especially when he was in one of those I-am-more-important-than-everyone-else moods._

_A harsh laugh broke the silence, coming from none other than Hidan himself, one arm holding his side, whilst the other pointed towards the blond rudely, as he stated "Haha! Deidara's got a crush!"_

_Deidara turned five shades of red, as his sent a death glare at the Jashinist, shouting back at him "I don't fancy her-hmm!"_

_A couple of snickers were heard, from Sasori, Hidan and Zetsu's black-half, they seemed to find this greatly amusing for some reason, since none of the members currently had a love-life, it was a perfect opportunity to have some fun._

"_She's a good-kid, I don't see a reason to hate her-" Kisame was cut off by Hidan's hoarse laughter again, Kisame's eyes narrowed at this, glaring at Hidan, he stated "At least she shows her superiors respect!"_

_Hidan stopped laughing immediately and snarled "Oh yeah? Well, I never got any fucking respect from anyone, so I ain't gonna' go showing respect to a stupid bitch-that won't even turn up on-time!"_

_Everyone rolled their eyes, and Pein, feeling his headache get worse, gave a sharp stare towards Hidan, as he snapped "That is enough, Hidan, you will not complain anymore, this arrangement cannot be stopped now."_

_Hidan was about to shout something back, when Pein stated to everyone with a brief nod "I must go, let us try and keep calm throughout this…'trial'."_

_With that, Pein and Konan's virtual forms disappeared from the cave, leaving the other members in silence, all of them left to their own thoughts, only Deidara and Itachi seemed to be on the same wavelength, both of them glaring at each other, whilst Sasori smirked at this, before he along with Deidara disappeared._

"_I will be having a word with you, Kisame." Itachi sent his Sharingan eyes at his partner, whom gave him a sheepish grin in return as he held his hands up in his defence "Hehe, but Itachi, I didn't think you'd want to know about her condition, you're not normally interested in anyone."_

_No one heard their small conversation, since Hidan was raving about how unfair Leader was being on him, they disappeared, swiftly followed by Zetsu and Kakuzu, wanting to get away from Hidan's ranting._

_Finally realising he was on his own, Hidan snapped "Tch! Fuck this! I'll show that bitch to disrespect me!"_

_He then disappeared also._

* * *

_Kaida opened her eyes to find that she was upon her bed, back in her bedroom, it was morning once more, the light shone through a parting in the dark curtains, but it weren't from the sun, it was never sunny here, that much was obvious since all it did was rain and rain and rain and rain and rain… _

_A new thought hit her; What happened to her?_

_She could've sworn she'd been training with…what's his name?_

_Kisame, that's it!_

_She could've sworn she'd been training with Kisame, it felt so real, another thought hit her; How did she end-up in her bed?_

_Surely, Kisame wouldn't carry her here? _

_For one-thing he didn't know where she lived, he'd probably never been to the Rain village before and she had a distinct feeling that Pein had come for her._

_She wondered whether all that super-strength training and her fainting during Kisame's lesson was all just a dream or not._

_She shrugged her shoulders, deciding that it weren't a dream, since she'd never had visions in her sleep of any of the other members before, she could take it the training was real._

_She stretched her arms, feeling instant soreness in the muscles, she realised that this confirmed that it were true, and she sighed in annoyance._

_She felt so confused, her head felt woozy, she felt dirty and needed a shower, however, when she attempted to stand up, she sat back down upon the bed with a dissatisfied stare, her legs having decided not to work all of a sudden._

_She glanced at the clock in her room, it read; 7:43am._

_She let out a sigh of relief, she didn't need to worry about getting up and ready just yet then, which was a good thing, since she felt so…ill._

_She idly lifted a hand to her forehead, it was quite warm, did she perhaps have a fever?_

_She hadn't been ill in a while, since she'd always made sure to take extra-care of herself so that she wouldn't get to a stage of any type of sickness, had she overexerted herself yesterday and made herself feel sick by doing so?_

_She weren't sure, but she knew she couldn't sit around and not get on with the days lesson, there were people counting on her to co-operate with them, she couldn't just not show up, it would be so disrespectful, she didn't want to be thought of as weak, and she didn't need any help, she was fine the way she was._

_She saw her diary still resting innocently upon her side table, and she grabbed it, deciding to write what happened in her 'dream', she was about to open it when the door to her bedroom opened, her mother; Konan, stepped inside, this time, without a cloak, she looked…more human without it, since all she wore was pale blue shorts and a navy vest-top, they clung to her form and Kaida immediately hoped that her mother didn't walk around like that in public-that was just asking for trouble, but when she looked up to meet her mother's eyes, that same cold look was still there and she seemed very unapproachable._

"_I trust you slept well?" Konan snapped curtly, not allowing her daughter to register that her mother was in the same room as her or what'd happened to have her mother even spending an a second of her free-time with her, she sent her daughter a hateful stare, only to have Kaida quickly turn her head away and look calmly to the other side of her bedroom, as if there were a painting on the wall to inspect, inside, she was trying to stop herself from snapping back at the impossible woman that didn't seem to know how to use her manners properly._

"_I can't remember, I think…I don't remember waking up…" Kaida answered meekly, if there was one thing she was not going to do, it would be argue with Konan, she didn't feel like it, she doesn't even know why her mother is here in the first place, this was all confusing and it made her head hurt even more trying to figure it all out._

"_What happened?" She asked quietly, forcing herself to look into her mothers eyes, wanting to know whether she'd lie to her or not._

"_You fainted after your training with Kisame, luckily, Pein was there to help you, you should show some appreciation, it was very rude of you to faint on Kisame without showing him your gratitude, you should thank Pein for carrying you back and me for looking after you all night-long-" Kaida cut her mother off with a sharp retort "Don't contradict me! You have no right to tell me what to do, everyone else might find you as an 'Angel', but you're no Angel, I am, I'm the _real-_deal, you're not even my mother, so don't you dare act as though you care for me."_

_Kaida saw the shock on Konan's face turn swiftly to anger, as she snapped "You will listen to me, _girl_, I may not be a mother to you, but I am in blood, and I am superior to you, don't act so cocky, you couldn't even lay a scratch on me!"_

_That stung Kaida, she bit her lip to stop herself from shouting at the other…woman, instead, she just muttered "Well, then, why am I being forced to stay here if I don't get along with you?"_

_Konan smirked loudly and let a small cackle rise up from within her as it filled the room, making Kaida wince from the sharp sound that made her head hurt all the more, before a serious look took over, she stated "That is no reason to leave, there are plenty of people that hate each other within this organization, you just learn to ignore it or deal with it in your own way, therefore, you won't ever be able to leave, no matter how much you detest me."_

_Kaida felt the bile slowly climbing up in the back of her throat as she then shouted at her "You are a monster! I _HATE_ you!"_

_Konan just shrugged carelessly, giving a sigh of impatience, she didn't seem to care that her own flesh-and-blood hated her so much. _

_She didn't care, was that how little she meant to her? Did she mean anything at all to Konan?_

"_Well, get up, go shower and change, I washed your other set of clothes, so you can put those on whilst I wash the ones you're wearing now, I'll make something for you to eat soon." Konan stated, her voice mocking that of a motherly tone, turning her back on Kaida, something she'd done to her as a kid, and left the room, the door half-open, Kaida listened to her mother's foot steps as she walked towards the kitchen, to prepare breakfast no-doubt, in silence._

_Kaida gripped the bed covers in her fists, glaring with sparkling orange eyes full of hate and hurt towards where her mother was originally stood, somehow managing not to shout obscenities at her. _

_Why? Why did Konan have to act like this? Why did she have to act like she weren't her real mother? Why couldn't she just leave her the Hell alone?!_

_She almost picked up her diary and threw it at the opposite wall in her anger, had she not remembered that she really needed a wash, since she'd worn both her outfits that were identical for many days each, they hadn't had a proper wash in such a long time, she didn't dare to look in the mirror to see her hair and face._

_Gritting her teeth tightly together, she stood up on shaky legs, placing her diary back upon the side table, she decided to write in it afterwards, whether breakfast was ready or not, she didn't care._

_She made a mental note in the back of her head to apologise to Kisame for fainting like that, maybe even thank Pein when her mother weren't around-which would be impossible, she would've thanked her mother, but she decided her mother can just get stuffed after speaking to her like that._

_Kaida knew she weren't trash, so what if possibly her only relative hated her? _

_It didn't mean she weren't loved…did it?_

* * *

_Kaida didn't waste any time in the shower, knowing that her mother wouldn't hesitate in searching through her stuff, she quickly dried herself off and yanked her clothes on, she cleaned her teeth and combed her wet hair._

_She stared in the mirror once done, a frown breaking out upon her features, she glared at her reflection, and she saw how much her appearance had changed._

_Darker bags had formed under her eyes from all the crying, restless sleep and days of difficult training, not to mention the stress of trying to be civilised around her mother._

_Her orange eyes either looked sharp and cold-much like her mother's were at most times, or dead and dull-much like how she felt constantly._

_She didn't want to change from the fun-loving girl she was before all this had even started, but she'd just be fighting against fate, prolonging the pain of becoming nothing but a puppet to the will of her superiors._

_She sighed heavily, knowing there was a quicker way to dry off, her wings twitched a little and began glowing, a white haze transfixed around her whole body this time, as she brought her arms up around herself, she moved her head to her right, she shot her head to her left and her arms flung out-away from her body and down to her sides as the light expanded around her body, being nothing but a shining entity for a few seconds, until the light died down and she was stood there, like she was before._

_This time, however, she had a smile upon her face, she felt dry and fresh, this was much better than waiting for herself to dry off, her abilities came in handy from time-to-time._

_She quickly marched out of the bathroom, seeing her mother dishing up what looked to be eggs, bacon and mushrooms from a frying pan onto two plates._

_Her mother was staying for something to eat as well?_

_Instead of saying anything, Kaida took a seat at the small table, her eyes caught onto the two glasses of orange juice upon the table near herself._

_This was seriously freaking Kaida out, but that weren't all, oh no, that was only the beginning, there were red place-mats to put the plates upon, knives and forks were set out as well, it was like she were expecting some decent company, not the daughter that she hated and wished were dead._

_Konan came over to the table, carrying the plates, one in each hand, and she placed one down in front of her, before Konan took a seat next to her at the table, Konan picked up her knife and fork and went straight to work on her breakfast, whilst Kaida sat there staring first at her mother, then down at her food._

_Was it poisoned? _

"_Eat. If you don't, then you won't be having anything until later." Konan muttered in a stern tone under her breath, not even looking at Kaida in question._

_She took her chances, knowing that her mother wouldn't go against Pein, she picked up her knife and fork and began eating, she tried her favourites eggs and mushrooms first, they tasted normal, she couldn't detect any flavour of poison, unless, it were one of those types of poison she couldn't taste or smell?_

_She chewed and chewed and chewed even more, when she finally swallowed, she waited for a few moments, expecting something to happen, anything, maybe shaking? Or a sweat breaking out? _

_She took her orange juice and briefly sniffed it, just to make sure, there weren't no harm in being extra-careful, right?_

_Her mother glanced at her and noticed this, she gave a sigh of annoyance, as she snapped "If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't do it in such a boring way, eat it before it gets cold!"_

_Kaida mentally stuck her tongue out, but couldn't understand why her mother had gone to such lengths for a breakfast and why she was acting like a mother that cared whether her child didn't eat her food._

_Tears threatened to break out again, remembering her mother making her eat every bit of food on her plate as a kid, since she didn't want her to complain of being hungry an hour later. _

_Kaida was very active as a kid, always running around, flying and getting dirty whenever she were allowed outside, her mother had shown concern and love then, always making sure that Kaida was wrapped-up warm in winter, ate her veggie's, practised her writing and reading often, did her chores and showed respect to her superiors and elders._

_That's the mother she wanted back, the one that would help her to understand life and guide her, who'd love her-no matter what she may look or act like, someone who'd protect her, laugh with her and go shopping with her-even train with her._

_Except…all she was showing now was bitterness and hate._

_Why did she change? How did it happen?_

_She allowed herself to be taken away on many memories of the past, and questions that she pondered over again and again, wondering what her mother's motive really was._

_She had a feeling she wouldn't like it, but something wasn't right here, she knew there was something bigger going on here than she thought she knew, she just didn't realise how big the threat was or that her life was being threatened behind closed doors of when she would ever betray the Akatsuki or act of her own free-will._

_The only thing Kaida knew, was that she felt certain, someone in particular was waiting for her to screw-up somewhere…and she didn't like it one bit._

_Kaida was brought out of her reverie when Konan stood up, picking up both plates and glasses, taking them to the sink, to wash them, Kaida looked over at her mother and muttered "Thank you…for the breakfast and looking after me…"_

_Her mother paused in her walking, then continued, shrugging, she answered "Whatever."_

_It hurt, but it weren't as bad as what she could've said, she could've said worse things, such as; 'It's not like I wanted to do it myself', so Kaida considered herself lucky for the way her mother reacted, though, she didn't respect her mother anymore than she did at that moment, since her mother could learn some lessons of her own in manners._

_Kaida folded her arms, watching her mother wash up-at least it saved her doing that later!_

_The silence went on for many minutes and made her feel uncomfortable, Kaida wished to find an excuse and escape…and she found one!_

"_What time will I be training today?" She refrained herself at the last minute from saying 'mother', she was so glad that she hadn't said that out loud, imagine the arguing that would ensue afterwards!_

"_You're not going to do any training today, you have a day off." Konan muttered in that dull, stern voice of hers, making it seem as though everything in life were depressing, but Kaida was left speechless for a little while, if she weren't training then what was she going to do instead?_

"_I-I don't understand…" Kaida muttered, feeling terribly confused, hadn't Pein and her mother made it clear many times before that she had to obey them and train hard? Why the sudden change?_

"_Because, today, we are going shopping." Her mother snapped out her answer, leaving Kaida speechless._


	13. Faze Thirteen

_**Faze Thirteen:**_

_Kaida blinked._

_She was joking-right? _

_Her mother had to be joking!_

_Shopping?! Since when did Konan get the urge to want to go shopping with her daughter which she didn't even want around?!_

_At first glance, you wouldn't have thought Konan would've been interested in shopping or anything girly for that matter, she looked to be the type of woman that trained or cooked or read or anything other than what most mothers would be interested in spending time with their daughters._

_It also didn't help that she disliked shopping herself, since, it meant going into busy places, being shoved by crowds of people and then being asked by anyone and almost everyone if they could touch her wings and if she were a real Angel._

_It ticked her off so much, but, she'd managed to refrain herself from hitting anyone, since she didn't want to get into trouble in anyone else's village._

_Besides, why was there a sudden necessity to go shopping? Couldn't she just stay in and watch TV and write in her diary-her diary!_

_She forgot to write in it!_

_She'd spent so much time gaping at her mother making breakfast, that she'd totally forgotten to do any writing in her beloved journal._

_She mentally smacked a hand to her head, never mind, she could always do it later as soon as she got back and when she were alone, there's no rush…_

"_Shopping? Erm…why?" Kaida asked, she knew she sounded dumb by asking this, but, she couldn't help but wonder what Konan was playing at?_

_Before now, they'd always avoided conversation and being in each other's presence, simply because, they were uncomfortable around the other and that they held a huge distaste for each other._

_She wondered if there was a catch somewhere in this?_

_There was no way her mother would one moment hate her guts and the next cook her breakfast and take her out shopping!_

_Konan was still staring at her and gave an impatient sigh, as she turned round and grabbed a towel to dry the dishes and cutlery off, having finished washing them, she muttered "You need food, clothes and toiletries if you're going to be staying here for a long time, okay?"_

_No, she weren't okay with it, not at all, she'd made it perfectly clear, okay, made it perfectly clear inside her head that she didn't want to be anywhere near her mother, she'd only spent an hour with her, well, being conscious and she was already hating it so much, that she wanted to fly out the window and go and relax in a tree somewhere._

_It seemed that destiny weren't going to be so friendly this time round, technically, it hadn't been good to her ever since her mother had left her alone to starve all those years ago._

_Kaida gave a long sigh and a reluctant nod, when she thought about getting some new things, looking away from her mother's form, she stared at her hands, joined tightly upon the table, feeling her happy mood sink._

_Why couldn't she just stay at home when she had a 'day off'? _

_She sighed in annoyance, this was so tedious, she knew for a fact that her mother weren't going to be hospitable and friendly-far from it, from what Kaida could make out from her mother's reactions and how she treated her, she knew that she'd invaded Konan's privacy and she certainly didn't like that…or her for that matter._

_But, that didn't mean she couldn't gain anything from this, having seen how little food she'd had stored before in the fridge and cupboards, now would be the perfect opportunity to get some colourful food, instead of eating plain rubbish, she desperately needed new clothes, since hers were always getting dirty and it wouldn't surprise her if they got ripped anytime soon, living off two outfits for possibly more than a couple of years did _not _appeal to her anymore than spending a day with her mother._

_Hopefully, it'd be half-a-day, she thought positively, trying her best to cheer up, since, Konan didn't need to have bothered to cook her breakfast or look after her, they could've just left her on her own to look after herself._

_She could at least be grateful to her for that._

_Kaida nodded to herself in determination, thinking to herself that if she could survive difficult training for hours-on-end, then she was positive she could handle this._

_She'd been through worse, especially, when she had to leave the ex-priests home after he'd taken her in, he'd died and she had no means of paying any money to the landowners, instead, she did as he asked and sold everything he owned, since, he had no children, she used the money and what was left in his will, to take with her on her many years of journeying across lands and skies, in search of her mother._

"_Okay, when will we leave?" Kaida asked quietly, not bothering to look up, since, she knew she'd be met by her mothers scornful stare._

_Kaida was only half-right, since, Konan was a little surprised at the same time, her being very confused at how easily the Angel had accepted this…task, she weren't even putting up a fight, which was more than what she could say for herself when she'd learned that very morning from Pein-the message being delivered to her by Madara, instructing her to show her daughter around the village, in case she ever needed anything._

_Never the less, perhaps spending some time with another female may calm her down a little, since, she'd always been surrounded by men within the organization-being the only female…until now, that is, keeping her distance from the villagers, for she knew it was unwise to involve them in plans of world domination and such alike._

"_Now, since we've both finished breakfast, and don't worry, you won't need to bring money." Konan stated, hoping the girl didn't have expensive taste, since, Pein only gave her a certain amount for her daughter to keep her going for at least a fortnight with food and a good few months with everything else._

_Maybe, it wouldn't be too bad…?_

* * *

_That was proven wrong the moment they both stepped onto the cement pavement and into the midst of a large crowd, among the many streets of the Rain village._

_They were always crowded every morning, despite how early it was, all of them trying to beat the rain that always cascaded down upon the village at lunchtime, and more importantly, many people such as Konan herself, preferred to get their shopping done as soon as possible._

_As soon as Kaida had entered the crowd walking alongside her mother, somewhere deep in thought, not seeming to hear the whispers of the villagers, half of them stating that she was a monstrosity, whilst the rest stated she was an Angel, nosey housewives and especially kids, all pointed to her, exclaiming random words or whispering with each other, pointing out they'd never seen _her_ around in the village before._

_Worst of all, they all stared at her, they stared at Kaida as if she were either a freak or some unbelievable fantasy creature that they didn't know even existed._

_This made Konan silently glare at them all, as soon as they caught her death glare, they all averted their gazes and moved onto a different topic of conversation, this made Konan grit her teeth tightly together._

_She remembered very clearly as if it were yesterday, that she used to keep Kaida indoors a lot of the time, wanting to prevent her daughter from being bullied for being unique and from being the hot-topic of gossip, since, it weren't her fault for being…different._

_She'd tried so many times to prevent this happening in the past when they were both younger, but, it seemed as though her efforts had gone to waste, though, deep within her mind, she knew she couldn't have kept her daughter locked away, make her feel like she's trapped within a cage._

_But, that was all in the past, she'd learn to let go and forget the past, until recently of course, but, it'd never really been an issue before now, though, she couldn't help but wonder why her daughter weren't noticing how the villagers were reacting to her, had she really grown used to it? Had she learned to block them all out by herself? Had she put up with worse?_

_Konan looked away, and more ahead of herself, since, she knew it weren't her place to ask, true; she was her mother, but, she'd abandoned her many years ago, wanting her to die, she wanted to move on and forget, she had no right to ask, since, she hadn't been with her…alone, like this, since, many years before now…_

_In truth, she was the worst mother in history, how could she apologise to her only child after everything she'd done? How could anyone apologise for that?_

_It was too late._

_Too late to forgive and forget, what had happened, had happened, nothing could change that, even if they did grow close to each other, that didn't mean they could ever be like they used too, after all, they were strangers to each other and they couldn't just _not_ talk about what'd happened between them for years._

_It'd almost be like living a lie…_

_Konan shook her head mentally, as her eyes caught on a clothes shop along to her left, she knew this shop well, she always went there for clothing and knew they did decent, affordable prices on clothing and they almost always had a sale on every time she went, which was probably as often as…perhaps once a month?_

_The shop itself was small and it could definitely use a new coat of paint on the outside, but, it was a shop specifically for girls-this narrowed down their options somewhat, she was also glad that Kaida wouldn't complain, since, she didn't seem the type of girl to care too much about her image._

_Konan pointed towards the shop that her daughter was surprised to see that there was the same clothes shop for women in every village and it was her favourite, Kaida nodded-feeling a bit more enthusiastic now, following her mother, hoping that the clothes-side of it wouldn't take too long._

_And, it didn't, surprisingly, as soon as they got into the small shop, Konan stated that she could pick whatever she wanted, without any further prompting, Kaida went upon the mission of finding herself something decent to wear during training._

_She picked out clothes very similar to hers, of course, she had dark grey tracksuit bottoms, blue vest-top underneath a black, leather, biker jacket, she wore dark brown walking boots, not the average zori-which was surprising in itself, she had small, black, leather gloves, the usual yellow-lenses, black-rimmed goggles and a pale blue scarf wrapped around her neck._

_It suited her body just nicely and was great for flying, considering, when she flew it sometimes got really cold, it especially worked well on complimenting her bright orange eyes, since, her clothes were subtle in comparison and her deep, thick, blue hair-which, matched Konan's, went just down below her shoulder-blades._

_It was obvious that she didn't want too much of a drastic change in appearance, so, instead, she got three more pairs of the same dark grey bottoms, another pair of gloves, another black, leather jacket, an assortment of different coloured tank-tops, which, consisted of pale yellow, pale orange, another pale blue, a white and black, she got some more socks, and a deeper blue scarf._

_Konan was impressed with how quickly it took for her to choose her outfits, for as soon as they'd gone in, they were out again within fifteen minutes, she did wonder whether Kaida should try the clothes on, but, Kaida swiftly answered "Nah, it's okay, I shop there regularly in the other villagers for clothes, so I know these will fit me."_

_The huge grin that Kaida gave her mother then, almost took her breath away, and she stared at her daughter with wide eyes, seeing Kaida smile a genuine smile for the first time in days since she'd arrived, it almost made her smile in return and it _almost_ brought tears to her eyes._

_This young girl, this Angel-her daughter, was smiling, as though she were free, as though she didn't have a care in the world, as if this world were perhaps a nice place to live, this Angel was the real-deal and was so full of life, it _almost _made Konan weep for herself._

_It was frightening, for she was actually seeing her younger-self within her daughter, it was there, the kindness, the love, the happiness and the longing to be recognised by others as a good creature._

_Konan lifted a hand to her mouth in horror, though, she was very lucky that Kaida was now focusing ahead of her, instead, of grinning at her mother, she once again looked to be in deep thought._

_Kaida didn't want any of this, didn't want to be part of this organization and she certainly didn't wish to be anywhere near her._

_And yet…she was still smiling._

_She was smiling as if none of that mattered anymore._

_And as they neared the supermarket, Konan wondered how long Kaida would keep on smiling…_

* * *

_Before long half of the day was gone, it was nearing three o'clock and Kaida and her mother had just returned from their full-morning and part afternoon of shopping-much to Kaida's annoyance._

_Still, she got everything she needed and was pleased enough of that, there was also money left over that Pein had given her from all that she'd bought._

_Konan had helped her pack her food shopping away, she even stayed to wash her clothes for her and on top of that, Konan had stated that the remainder of the money that was left, was for her to keep._

_This had sparked off Kaida's senses, it was now official that she knew something was definitely going on, her mother was being way too helpful-and what's more worrying was she hadn't said anything rude since this morning._

_Konan worked away in silence, whilst Kaida took off to her room, stating that she had a headache-which, okay, wasn't technically true, but her head did hurt from all the over-thinking she'd done all day._

_It was the perfect retreat and Konan hadn't even bothered to look at her when she'd left the room, let-alone say anything in response._

_It was almost too easy to believe, but, she was so thankful that she didn't have to do all the housework, by rights, it was a mothers job anyway!_

_Kaida grit her teeth and forced the thought out of her mind as she went and leaned back against the pillows upon her bed, taking her diary and picking up the pen, she was determined to finally write in it since she hadn't had the chance all morning._

Dear Diary,

I'm sorry that I didn't write in you the night before, I have a perfectly decent excuse!

Yesterday, I met up with a huge, blue-guy, called; Kisame, yeah, another member of the Akatsuki!

At first I thought he was rather arrogant and snotty, but, after getting to know him a little more, I find that he's funny, if not baring some annoying quirks in his nature (he almost fell asleep whilst training me for one thing!) and he was so tall that I have to look up at him to see what his facial expressions are! but, I think we're cool, Y'know?

I think we might be pals, but, it's the first time meeting him, so it's a little to soon to expect him to be all buddy-buddy with me yet, unlike Deidara, since, the blond is just great to hang-out with!

Why is it that everyone seems to be taller than me lately?!

Anyway, Diary, I was practising super-strength all-day yesterday that after finally mastering it, I apparently collapsed from exhaustion, yeah, I felt so bad when I came around this morning, I mean, I didn't even thank Kisame for coming out of his way to help me.

I hope he doesn't think I'm rude…?

Oh…and I forgot to pack something for us to eat…major-whoops…

Future note: MUST remember to take something to eat for lunch from now-on!

Moving on, mother-that's right-MOTHER was here this morning!

I woke-up and found her in my apartment, not only that, but, she was doing motherly CHORES!!

Y'know?

Cleaning and cooking, the sort of things a normal mother always does.

I kid you not!

I was so surprised, I mean, mother has been trying to stay as far away from me as is humanly possible, she hates me-that's true, it's like there's this big secret and no one's letting me in on it!

She always sends me glares, snippy comments and always acts superior to me-either that, or she just ignores me completely.

But, it was so weird…

She told me that she'd stayed with me all night to nurse me back to health-since I obviously couldn't look after myself, she then went and washed my dirty clothes, cooked me breakfast (bacon, egg and mushrooms!) and then took me out shopping!

Oh, and she washed more of my clothes that I bought along with; food and toiletries, so now I feel like this apartment is starting to get more cosy, I feel like it may be one of the best homes I've had thus far!

I couldn't help it, Diary, I couldn't help but feel a little bad about how I'd been acting towards her, I mean, I should be more civilised, young ladies would never act in such a callous manner as I did, even though I didn't ask for her to be so cruel, but, I think we're both to blame, it takes two to start a fight, however, it only takes one to finish it.

I'm going to finish it.

Is there any harm in doing that, Diary?

I mean, she may hate me so much that she wishes I were dead, and I may not like her very much, but, at least it's better to just be civil to each other-right?

Y'know?

Just be polite to each other…then again…mother doesn't even bother to cover up her distaste for me, since she's always throwing verbal abuse into my face about my attitude, ugh!

Well, never mind, scrap the idea of us being civil, though, I now have to do something in return for her, since she's done so much for me today, it's only fair I return a favour…

I hope it's nothing too stressful…

I also have to apologise and thank Pein for carrying me back here to my apartment, since, I did kinda' faint on both Kisame and Pein…hehe, I don't think he'd be too happy about that, though, I'm sure he'd appreciate my manners, at least I have them!

*Glares at mum*

I managed to escape her-even just for ten minutes, because I've noticed that she's been watching my every move all day, every time I go somewhere, she'll either follow right behind me or stare at me so intensely that I get those shivers going down my spine, not the pleasurable kind either, the ones where you feel like running away and hiding.

Yeah, those ones.

Anyway, I'll be resuming with tomorrows lesson as usual, so, even with my 'day-off', it was still rather tiring, but, I got a lot out of it and I still have some money left as well!

I might see if Deidara wants to get some lunch again sometime…or maybe go and see a film?

This is how bad I am, Diary, my first friend and I'm already assuming things we could do together, but, it's such a shame we can't hang-out more often!

I'm going against Hodin? Hardan? That's it! Hidan.

Ahem!

I'm learning from Hidan tomorrow, I think he's that foul-mouthed one I faintly remember back in the meeting, the one with the magenta coloured eyes, apparently I have to watch out around him, Kisame warned me that he wouldn't hesitate in getting my blood and doing…some sort of ritual…am I to be worried?

Because I think I'm panicking now.

_Hearing a bang from the kitchen, Kaida's head shot-up towards the door, seeing it only open just by the barest width, she quickly began scribbling a goodbye to her diary, something material that she'd come to count on as if it were a friend of her own._

Sorry, Diary, I've gotta' go now, I think mum's dropped something, or maybe hit herself-Hahaha!

Better go before she sees me writing in here, speak to you soon!

Bye! x x

_Kaida quickly shut her journal, it instantly locked itself back into place and the barrier once more enveloped around the leather book, knowing that no one could touch her book without having their arms turn to jelly and without her knowing it, she rested it upon the side-table once more, alongside the pen._

_Kaida yawned to herself, realising how tired she was now, she laid down against her pillows upon the bed, her eyes drifting shut, she felt her exhaustion give-way to a peaceful slumber._

_However, unbeknownst to the young Angel, someone had been watching through the small gap of the open door, someone that shouldn't even be anywhere near the apartment, all that could be seen, was the single red eye, staring in on the young Angel with something akin to deep interest._

_Soon…she would be his…just like all the others…she too, will follow his every order without fail._

_The bad-thing was, she wouldn't know any better._


	14. Faze Fourteen

_**Faze Fourteen:**_

_Kaida met up with Pein and Konan on-time, knowing that she'd been slightly disrespectful from not showing up the day before, she wondered how her 'teacher' would take her apology?_

_Should she bow? Kneel? Beg?_

_Nah, if there's one thing Kaida would never do, it would be kneeling and begging-especially to a criminal. _

_She only bowed out of respect to others, but, some people did not deserve to be shown any respect at all, since, most humans only thought about themselves, this, had been proven many times before now, especially when she'd enter a new village or a small port town for something to eat and perhaps a place to rest, but, she never did end up staying for long, since all the human children would chase her and demand that she 'play' with them and take them flying in the air-since when was she a friggin' toy?_

_Never, that's when!_

_But, in spite of it all, she continued to make excuses for them, since she knew they were only excited and curious at having never seen a real Angel before._

_It still pissed her off though._

_It was same with every place she went too, people would stare, call her names, others would circle round her, demanding she do as they say or else, sometimes it got as bad as having people throw stones at her._

_It happened a lot as a kid, ever since she'd been taken into the care of an elderly priest, children that knew her; all bullied her, laughing at her because she had no mother, she had no parents or siblings to defend her, she was all alone, her matter didn't count, she was no one special, she didn't belong anywhere, was that why she hadn't settled down? Was that perhaps why she'd been driven by such a mad overwhelming need to find her mother, so that she could look possibly to her only blood relative and ask her mum to bring back some meaning to her life?_

_Kaida stared at the ground darkly, a heavy aura fell around her strong form, this was the truth, this was why she should never forget how her mother had rejected her-is still rejecting her so horribly._

_Kaida's orange eyes shot up to Konan's back, burning holes and imagining that the older woman was on fire, since she no longer held a desire to be in the women's presence._

_Living with her mother had been something of a distant memory, her mother had often kept her indoors, afraid to let her outside to the world with it's prying eyes and accusing words, her mother only did it to protect her, she didn't want to see her little Angel get hurt in any way._

_Though, what her mother did, hurt her the most, she abandoned her, leaving her there to die, all alone, crying to herself with no one else to ease her pain and tell her it would be alright, that she had no need to be afraid._

_She knew that somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that her mother had abandoned her, she just covered it up with lies, false hopes of believing that it weren't her beautiful mother's fault, that she held no blame in this, it was merely fate that prevented them from coming back together again, something had just gone wrong somewhere-her mother hadn't abandoned her at all!_

_But she had, and if the priest had never come by and found her laid on the cold, damp floor, in the middle of winter, hugging a thin blanket about herself, shivering, whimpering from the cold and loneliness, the pain that ached within her chest, begging to be rectified, her tears long-since dry upon her sickly-pale face and her body, so thin, having been deprived of food-any nourishment for so long, she was on death's door._

_But, the old man, as if he were God himself, held his hand out to her, telling her that everything would be fine now, that he'd take her away and look after her, he'd give her a reason to live once more._

_And she'd taken the offer, it'd been weeks…months, since her mother had left her alone to starve or freeze to death, either way, she'd survived, all because someone had stopped by and saw her suffering, had taken the time to look and had inevitably given her a purpose to live and continue with life, as if she were destined for greater things, things that she didn't yet understand._

_Even now, as she was following after the figures of her mother and her mother's lover, she stared at them with cold eyes full of pain that hadn't faded away, even after years of patience and obsessive-searching, she was now trapped here, beyond her will, and each day she was reminded of her harsh experiences, simply because her mother was there, had said the wrong thing, had looked at her with that undying disgust and kept her body away from her, as if she were a disease._

"_I am not…a disease…" Kaida mumbled to herself in determination, though, her voice wobbled a little, leaving her to feel vulnerable and scared, had they heard her?_

_She glanced at them once more, after having her gaze fall to the ground in front of her once she went off into her own depressing thoughts of the past that she'd managed to make through on her own, seeing that their postures hadn't changed in the slightest, she knew they hadn't heard her, or simply, didn't care._

_It was most likely the latter, she knew they didn't care for her well-being, only her safety, they didn't want her injured or dead, well, her mother wanted her dead, for years she'd been wanting her dead, but, she couldn't understand why._

_Why did her mother wish her dead so much? And why did they wish her to remain unharmed?_

_Something was definitely going on here, something bigger than she'd initially thought was going on, though she didn't really know how big, she knew that they were both hiding something from her, something catastrophic, something that she knew would have her fleeing from them within seconds if she were to know._

_Whatever it was, had her feeling very uneasy and she knew she had to tread carefully from here-on-out, since she didn't want to get into any trouble and she especially did not want to experience first-hand just how powerful Pein really was._

_Though, she were pretty certain he wouldn't harm her, no, not him, someone else, she had a feeling all was not that it seemed, Kaida was anything but dense, her photographic memory was a God-send at times, she remembered things pretty well and was a fast-learner, she caught onto things real-quick._

_So would it really surprise her, if she thought that perhaps there was someone else that was above Pein? Someone that was stronger than both her mother and Pein combined? Someone that was the _real _leader of the Akatsuki and was calling all the shots?_

_She shook her head furiously, re-focusing her hard stare upon their backs, she knew that whatever was going on, she wouldn't like it one bit._

* * *

_Hidan was sat in the forest beneath a tree, scratching the back of his head in irritation, his lips smacking together once more to whistle away the boredom that ate away at him very slowly._

_He'd been sat in the same spot ever since arriving and that was over two hours ago._

_Hell, he was bored!_

_Hidan was not a patient man by nature, well, it was plainly obvious that the word 'patient' and 'Hidan' definitely do not belong in the same sentence._

_At first he'd been glad to sit down, since he'd been travelling for two days straight from where himself and Kakuzu had been wondering around aimlessly, Kakuzu was looking for more ways to grab money from almost anywhere possible and having been given an extra-day to do so, had increased his slightly happy mood a little more, even more so that Hidan weren't going to be there to complain about it._

_Either way, Hidan found this a pain in the arse, Kakuzu always being the greedy miser, money was never too far away from him, it surprised Hidan how the guy could just hoard it all, not spending so much as a penny of it, if he'd had it his way then he'd get Kakuzu to at least let them stay in a hotel and eat decent food, instead of sleeping on the forest floor all the time and eating berries, fish and cheap rice balls-Hidan hated cherries, so that left him with two things to eat and most times they'd be travelling across far distances, without so much as a river to catch fish or a shop to buy some cheap food, this meant starvation._

_Of course, Hidan was used to this, he could go without food for a couple of days top-side, but it made him very irritable and grouchy, thus, pissing Kakuzu off even more than before._

_He swiftly got bored of whistling and glanced over his shoulder, he was thoroughly annoyed when all he could see were trees, bushes and grass-why the hell was there so much green?! _

_Looking in each direction, he snorted loudly, his irritation was becoming a problem again, his brows furrowing from impatience, he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in boredom, wondering why it was taking the Angel so long to arrive, before, once more, he picked up the rosary that was hung around his neck in his hand, bringing it to his lips, he closed his eyes, telling himself to be calm, then he began murmuring what seemed to be the eleventh prayer that very morning to Jashin and he was getting tired of it._

_Of course he was a strict, religious man, he just knew that there was only a certain limit to patience that he could take and he only prayed at most four-five times a day, if he had time, today, however, was just something completely different altogether._

"_Stupid, fucking, bitch! Making me wait out here for shit! I bet she won't even fucking show-up!" Hidan hissed to himself-cutting off his prayer abruptly as he glared off into the trees._

_He hated people that were late or were annoying, there was late and there was _late_, she was late by a day and a quarter and that annoyed the hell out of him, he knew that the others hadn't had to wait that long, they hardly had to wait at all, she was always on-time with them, but it had to be him that had the back luck, she just had to pass-out didn't she? _

_The very day before she was supposed to be training with him._

_He frowned, thinking that she'd better apologise to him and give him some great respect if she wanted him to be…'nice' to her, though, that wouldn't be happening anyway, 'nice' was not in his dictionary, he was only out to look after himself, because at the end of the day, no one else would, that's how all the Akatsuki were, of course they could all fight with their partners using teamwork, it was just barely ever needed._

_His head snapped up when he heard some footsteps coming closer through the trees of the forest to his far-left, Hidan almost cried out for joy that they'd arrived, had it not been for the fact he'd waited for nearly over two hours!_

_He remained where he was sat however, not even bothering to stand-up, not even when the Leader of the Akatsuki was stood before him, not many of the Akatsuki members had seen Pein up-close before, especially in the light of day and not being a hologram, it made a lot of a difference, either way, Hidan weren't fazed by this at all, he didn't like Pein-always demanding and such a snob, maybe not as much as Itachi, but, close enough, then there was Konan, how he hated her as well, she hardly spoke, too quiet, yet when she did, she was blunt, honest and had a sharp-tongue, she was always clinging to Pein's every word as if it were law or something._

_His magenta eyes finally fell upon the Angel, stood beside her mother as she was, and he was rather surprised to see how strong she looked in resemblance to her mother, only her eyes and height were different, despite finding her wings as real as Pein's boring lectures, he already found himself disliking the Angel, she'd stood him up, he'd had to wait another fucking day for the stupid bitch to show-up!_

"_Hidan, this is Kaida, she'll be training under you today and I will make this clear only _once; _don't hurt her and you will certainly _not_ be using her in any of your rituals, if you do, there won't be a man called; Hidan to worship 'Jashin' ever again, understood?" Pein took a step forward and gave the Jashinist a hard stare, only to be met back with a dark glare from the albino, as he snapped "Like I'd sacrifice that stupid, bitch! She's already stood me up a whole fucking day and almost a half, by rights, I shouldn't even have to train her if she's going to be so fucking disrespectful!"_

_Hidan sent a hard glare at the Angel, not even bothering to hold back on his cursing or even bothering to try and be more civilised towards the young girl._

_In answer, she shot him a small glare of her own and snorted rudely, she didn't come here this morning to be cursed at and accused of deliberately cancelling her training with him, she was ill and she didn't see why he was taking such offence to it now, he didn't seem at all bothered by her when she'd first met him in the meeting._

_She didn't need to explain herself to the likes of him, he was being rude unnecessarily and she hadn't even had a chance to apologise for her tardiness yet!_

"_Well, I was going to apologise, but I don't think I will now, since you don't deserve it with that coarse language of yours." Kaida stated on a bored sigh, placing her arms behind her head, she looked away from them, feeling rather annoyed that she had to train under someone as rude as him, she knew he was the type of guy to complain…a lot, she didn't like people like that, she always knew that if you had to do something, you had to do it, no matter what._

_Boy, she knew that only too well. _

_The man in question snorted loudly, giving her such a malicious smirk, his eyes gleaming with something that looked close to what was described as psychotic, it sent a shiver down her spine at how creepy it was._

_Instead, she covered it up by rolling her eyes heavenward, before focusing them on Pein, to see him glaring at the other man, it looked as though, Pein also didn't like this…Hidan._

"_Or maybe…I should sacrifice her…an Angel would be the perfect…'gift' for Lord Jashin…" Hidan began chuckling evilly, his body shaking from anticipation, that she looked round at him rather surprised._

"_Hidan, you will not, under any circumstances harm Kaida, she is our subordinate and is your student for the day." Pein sighed restlessly from where he stood, his eyes lowering, it made him look rather tired._

_Hidan stopped all laughter, he glared at Pein and turned away pouting, his arms folded in annoyance, it was really obvious that he didn't want to teach anyone._

"_Fine, whatever dip-shit!" He growled in response, obviously not liking that order. _

_It was a good thing he didn't remain sat where he was, for now there was something that looked very much like a white sword sticking out of the tree that Hidan was leaning against previously, it seemed as though time had stopped for a few seconds, before Kaida's eyes narrowed on the white sword, she could faintly see at her distance that it had lines embedded all around it, making it look as though it were cracked._

_Before she could stare at it any longer, it slowly began to peel back, revealing itself to be thin sheets of paper that'd melded together to create a weapon and it was swiftly retreating to…Konan!_

_Kaida watched in amazement, seeing that it was actually a paper sword that her mother had melded together within a few mere seconds-no less!_

_It was then that Kaida noticed her mother's arm had disappeared completely, only the stub of the top of her arm, right up by her shoulder remained and if she stared carefully, she'd be able to see that the stub of arm that was left looked exactly like the sheets of a book, hanging down from her shoulder._

_The sheets of paper floated through the sky and back over to Konan, they began to meld back into her left arm and Kaida saw the look of irritation written across her mother's face, it seemed as though she were upset about something, that didn't mean she should try and stab people...wait, where did Hidan go?_

"_Konan, please, remain calm." Pein muttered to his partner and lover, not looking all that bothered, whilst Kaida began looking around herself and trying to see if he'd perhaps taking shelter in one of the trees around them, or maybe he'd gone off into the forest to hide until they'd left?_

'_Get a clue! These aren't mere Genin!' Kaida mentally scolded herself for underestimating an S-ranked criminal._

'_Better not let Hidan here what I just thought, he'd probably kill me for thinking him weak.' She frowned at the thought. _

_Konan merely let out a small snort, as if the idea was utterly preposterous, it was clear that something had upset her mother, Kaida knew it was something to do with Hidan swearing at Pein, why couldn't she just talk it over like a normal person?_

_Oh wait, these guys are anything but normal…_

"_You ready to train…Angel-bitch?" _

_The voice that was suddenly so close behind her, made her limbs freeze in-place, she was shocked at how he'd managed to get behind her without noticing it, he was so agile and quiet about it-which, belied his loud mouth._

_Pein and Konan glanced over their shoulders at Hidan stood behind her, they looked rather sleepy-eyed and Kaida suddenly found the urge to wake them up and prove that she was worth something._

_She focused on her training with Kisame, taking in a quick deep breath, her eyes snapped shut, remembering to listen out for the slightest sound of movement._

_It was when she heard metal brushing through the air, that her wings flapped down hard and she shot forwards through the air passed Pein and Konan, taking off further into the forest and away from his three-bladed scythe that smashed into the ground with a loud crack._

_Her eyes now open, she unlatched her short-handled axe from upon her back as she turned round to face him, her axe ready in-hand to defend herself, however, before recognition could sink-in, Hidan was there in front of her with his scythe again, aiming to at least give her a long cut across her chest, that malicious, psychotic look in his magenta eyes again, that look made her shiver a little, it was really creepy._

_He brought his scythe down and it was swiftly met by her axe, the look of annoyance flashed across his face, before he began smirking, twisting round in mid-air, he kicked her in the stomach and sent her spiralling off further into the forest, almost hitting a tree._

_She in-turn twisted her body, so that it were her feet that connected against the tree trunk and not her back, she added a burst of chakra to her feet and pushed herself off the trunk and then she was flying through the air at such a speed._

_Just before she got to him, she swung her axe to hit him in the chest, he merely ducked, this time, he swung his scythe over his back, aiming to catch one of the blades in her mid-section._

_It would've stabbed through her, if she hadn't suddenly flapped her wings up and in one swift movement, she was floating high above the trees on a calm wind, giving her time to stare down at him, to see him waving his arm at her and shouting, most likely curses, since the wind was blowing in her ears._

_She let out a deep sigh, crossing her legs in the air, it looked as though she were sitting, instead, she was merely floating there, pulling a face at him, since he was playing rather dirty, he was actually aiming to kill her or at least injure her badly so that she'd be out of commission for the next month._

_This gave her an advantage, she would now have the chance and distance to give her enough time to think of a strategy._

_She looked down at him, seeing him sat down on the floor as well, he was almost mimicking her movements and he was actually sulking, his face screwed-up in irritation, glaring at the forest floor and mumbling curses to himself, he really was an odd one if anything._

_All her other 'teachers' had made the time to introduce themselves, talk to her and help her learn step-by-step on how to improve, all Hidan was doing was fighting her head-on, she knew she was meant to be learning stamina/endurance from him, but, did it really have to involve just fighting against him? Didn't he have any advice to give other than clang of her axe meeting his three-blade scythe?_

_Problem is, if she went back down into the forest, then she'd be limited to how much she could fly about, the last thing she needed was to be caught up in branches, for Kisame's warning came flooding back through her mind; "You have to keep a careful eye out for any sneak attacks of his-make sure he doesn't get an ounce of your blood, or he won't hesitate in killing you in one of his weird rituals." _

_How was she supposed to avoid that from happening if he's always there? Trying to cut her? _

_It seemed impossible, especially since fighting in the forest was one of her weakest assets, sure, she could fight fine whilst running, she just fought better in the skies, where she wouldn't have any objects restricting her movements._

_She gave a heavy sigh, she could stay in the sky all day, but it won't improve her skills at all and what was worse, if Pein found out, then she'd have to learn under Hidan again the next day._

_Thinking about Pein and Konan her gaze drifted over in the direction where they'd been standing minutes before, she could see the clearing where Hidan had resided to rest before they met, she saw that they were already gone._

_Kaida ground her teeth together, understanding now why Konan had shot that sword out at Hidan._

_Yes, it was to stop him from swearing and disrespecting Pein, but it was more for getting Hidan off his arse and motivated._

_Motivated into fighting _her_._

"_Gee, thanks a lot-_mother_!" Kaida hissed, her eyes glaring down at Hidan once more, seeing him staring back up at her, he too had a look of irritation on his face, they both seemed to just be glaring at each other._

_This was definitely _not_ her day._

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**A/N: **Oh my Lord! I bet you were all waiting until I'd put one of these in here? Anywho, I just wanted to say a **big** thank you to; 'Kudomeya', 'DestinyIntertwined', 'Shyion', 'Riayna Darkheart' and 'SammywithSwagger' for all the lovely reviews they've given me! I really do appreciate it and I apologise for not saying so sooner-my memory can be like a goldfish at times! ^^'

**!Reviews are appreciated!**


	15. Faze Fifteen

**A/N:** I'm actually mega-surprised I'd made it this far, when I first started this story I thought it'd be like all the others and wouldn't ever get finished, but this is coming on nicely, I've set myself at a nice pace, so expect this story to be updated (at most) weekly. I appreciate all the support from reviews and messages-thank you!

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_**Faze Fifteen:**_

_If there was one-thing that pissed Hidan off, it was cheaters._

_She knew he didn't have wings, he couldn't fucking fly! _

_How in Jashin's name was he going to get up there?!_

_After throwing a 'mild' temper tantrum, he sat down, cross-legged and kept watch of her, waiting for her to make her move, only to see her do the same thing in mid-air, which surprised him a little, that she could float without flapping her wings._

_Then again, she was on a high wind, despite it being gentle enough, he didn't know that._

_He saw the way she glared down at him, as if it were his fault for this stupid…'lesson', he never even asked to teach the bitch, why did he have to be lumped with _her_?_

_He snorted and glared back up at her, if there was one thing, he knew he wasn't going to make it easy for her, depending on when she came down and he hoped it was soon, since he was just getting warmed up, and then she had to go and retreat to the skies!_

_Deep down he was rather jealous of her, she could fly, how many people could fly?_

_Very few, he always wanted to know what it was like to fly, as a kid, he was told that Angels were blessings and if he ever got to see one, then he was the most luckiest guy in the world._

_Despite trying to tell himself he weren't excited, he was, he'd been rather looking forward to seeing how the Angel faired, instead, he'd been rather disappointed, since she looked like the average girl, well, close enough in appearance, except that deep blue hair of hers and those bright orange eyes of hers that seemed to be able to see right through and into a person's soul, it was rather unnerving._

_However, she was just a kid, a kid with wings and Hidan hated kids more than anything in the world._

_Though, he had to give her credit for how quickly she'd reacted to him and his attacks, at the time that he'd appeared behind her, he'd been half-expecting her to run behind her mother's back and beg Konan to save her._

_He then wondered if she was going to fly every time that he got close enough to slice a thin cut across her arm._

_He knew that he weren't supposed to harm her or kill her, but…it was just too tempting!_

_This was the rarest thing he'd ever seen, he was rather disappointed with the outcome and what she looked like, although, she was extremely pretty, she was still a kid and she didn't exactly dress to impress._

_She'd instead chosen to dress sensibly, she would always be flying about and chose to wear those yellow-lensed goggles upon her head-no doubt to cover her eyes when flying like a bird on crack and what was up with that scarf?_

_A random pale blue scarf wrapped around her neck, it was a nice shade and went well with the colour scheme of her outfit, unlike most ninja's clothes, yet it was so…random, it weren't as if she wore much to cover her arms, her leather, zip-up jacket only went a little above her elbows and she wore leather gloves, so what was the point in the scarf?_

_Either way, he was expecting, what? Something perhaps more flashy? Bold? A dress perhaps? Or maybe her clothed in white robes whilst playing a fucking harp?_

_He shook his head at the thought, fuck! He was thinking about _women's_ fashion now-what was the world coming too?!_

_That was what made him jump to his feet in determination, he was not going to sit there and wait for her all-day, if she weren't going to come down then he'd make her come down to him._

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_Kaida raised an eyebrow at him as she saw him jump to his feet below her, her jaw set firmly as she clenched the handle of her hammer in her small fist tightly, as if reassuring herself that there was nothing he could do to make her come down to his level._

_If he threw kunai or shuriken she'd easily deflect it with her axe or dodge them, in the skies she was the expert, on the ground, she wasn't so good…_

_Kaida sighed and placed her axe upon her back once more, whatever he was up to, she knew it would be fast._

_He was up to something alright, if anything, she had to be ready for sneak attacks, she couldn't afford to lower her guard, seeing as he was very good at close-range attacks, she knew she'd have to be wary, especially with his speed._

_Of course, she didn't understand what Kisame meant about Hidan's rituals, but she knew she didn't want to find out, she weren't dumb, she knew it involved sacrificing her soul to some God that she'd most likely never even heard of, since it'd already been hinted he was a very religious man._

_The worst part was, if he got her, she knew she would be dead at the end of that ritual-if not before._

_That was so not what she was planning with her life, she didn't work so hard in this stupid organization and didn't waste her life by searching for her mother for so many years just to end-up six-feet under and pushing up the daisies._

_She watched him with narrowed eyes, she didn't like how he was fiddling about with something that looked very shiny connected to his scythe, she didn't know what it was since she'd never got the chance to view it properly, though she immediately warned herself to be careful, because he'd thrown himself at her so quickly back on the ground that she'd barely had time to react to his frantic attacks, whilst at the same time, trying not to let him get any of her blood._

_Kaida shook her head slightly, willing herself to wake-up from her trance-like state, only when her gaze could focus like it normally functioned, she noticed to her surprise that Hidan weren't even standing where he was on the ground before, he was no longer where he was originally stood, she knew then that he'd taken the opportunity when she was reminiscing to perhaps hide from her sight and formulate a plan, one thing was or sure though, he couldn't have simply vanished into thin air?_

_She'd been looking at him directly at him-although she weren't focused at the time and then as she'd blinked, he'd just disappeared from her sight!_

_Now that was what she called skill, she felt herself unable to compliment him mentally, disappearing so quickly before you could notice was something that would be very useful in the future, problem was; she no longer knew where he was now._

_For all she knew, he could've hidden himself in a tree, just waiting for her to go down to him and meet him head-on, though she knew she'd have to do that eventually, Kaida also knew that she needed to formulate a plan if she wanted to get out of this without any scratches and her still breathing._

_Hesitantly she pulled her yellow goggles over her eyes, looking about on the ground for any signs of movement, surprised that she still couldn't find him, it was times like these that she wished she could have an eye-scope much like Deidara's, she'd be at a better advantage if she had one._

_Kaida's eyes widened as she heard metal brushing through the air really fast, her head snapped round to look over her shoulder, she was rendered speechless, as if everything went in slow-motion._

_There he was!_

_Flying through the air, his hand held tight onto that metal cord that was connected on the end of his scythe, so that was the flash of light reflecting off of the metal earlier!_

_Before she could move away, his right leg kicked out and caught her in the stomach, causing her to groan and her eyes squint shut at the pain, such was the force of the kick that she immediately felt herself falling through the air and no doubt towards the ground, exactly where he wanted her to be._

_Her eyes opened a little and they were immediately met by his with that psychotic gleam in eyes that looked almost orange through her goggles, she noticed that he was falling to the ground too._

_Her teeth ground together, knowing now that he had it all planned out, he'd lengthened the metal cord on the end of his scythe and had thrown it out to some unknown region in the forest, most likely catching it onto a tree or something that it held a tight grip on, then by jumping high into the air, he'd pulled on the metal cord connected to the scythe and was suddenly at her level in the sky and this had only taken him less than ten seconds to accomplish! _

_Even the skies weren't safe anymore, it looked as though she'd underestimated him, well, of course she had! _

_He is an Akatsuki member, he may be a close-range fighter, but that metal cord had certainly helped him somewhat and had caught her off-guard, well, the good-thing was, she never fell for the same trick twice._

_His cry of joy snapped her out of her thoughts, Kaida stared a little at him, seeing his hand reach into his cloak and pull out what looked to be very similar to a metal stake of some sort…wait!_

"_Ha! You thought you could fucking out-smart me? You stupid bitch, I'll show the power of my Lord Jashin!" His snarl made her eyes harden, seeing the stake lengthen in his left hand, she decided to take action._

_She had a feeling he was waiting for her back to hit the ground and there he'd drive the stake right into her body, not caring whether or not Pein had specifically told him to not harm her._

_In reply to this, she flipped her body round, her wings stretched outwards, before quickly coming close to her body-as if shielding her and she feel faster to the ground, almost like a missile, she didn't know whether this had surprised the albino or not, either way, the choked noise he made in his throat was one of fury._

_Ignoring this, she went further to the ground, the air brushing past her in such fast motions that her hair was like a long-ish blue veil that fluttered wildly behind her, she was coming close to the trees, her eyes caught onto the scythe connected to the tree not far away from where she was, they soon refocused on the ground once more and it was just about three metres above ground level that she arched her back and her wings stretched outwards and flapped once._

_Her body swooped low across the ground and soon she was off into the air again, her body turning in time to see Hidan land feet first onto the ground, pushing himself off of the ground he jumped into the air again towards her, holding the stake out wide in his hand, he cried gleefully as he aimed it for her chest._

_Seeing this, her hand automatically grabbed for her axe, both metal clashed together, she'd managed to get her axe out to defend her just in time, his dislike at that was evident with the frown on his face as he shoved her backwards towards a tree._

_Her wings automatically flapped and stopped her from hitting against the hard wood, she watched him as he flipped himself over, his feet hitting the tree, he added more chakra to his feet and pushed himself off of the wood and was soon flying through the air at her in such blinding speed, that she'd barely noticed him swoop past her as she quickly moved to the side before he could stab her._

_What happened next made her wince terribly._

_Hidan flew straight into the tall tree that had been behind her, head-first, a loud crack was heard and soon the albino fell wordlessly to the ground, whilst Kaida was floating in shock in the sky, her wide eyes staring down at the now unmoving heap on the forest floor._

_Her hands shook as she slowly placed her axe upon her back once more, feeling very uncertain about what to do now, it was obvious that the fight was over, another thought hit her; what would Pein and Konan do to her when they found out she'd killed one of the Akatsuki members?!_

_Her hands gripped her throat tightly and she slowly floated towards the ground, she gulped, she could already picture Pein and Konan berating her for killing an Akatsuki member-almost feeling their hands on her neck; strangling her and the fact that Hidan had broken his neck made her feel extremely sick at herself for not paying attention to what was happening and the sound of that huge crack that erupted afterwards, it was horrible..._

_When her feet touched the ground, she heard a loud groan from Hidan's slumped form that was face-first on the ground, she gasped and quickly now she ran to him as she pulled her goggles above her fringe and left them there upon her head, feeling frantic, hoping that he would be alright if she looked at his injury._

"_Oh God, Hidan, can you hear me?!" She bent down to him on her knees, worry creasing her brow, her hands held above his body in uncertainty, wondering whether to move him or not, she knew she could make his injury worse if she attempted to move him, but she could see to his neck at that moment, since his hair was a little longer at the back._

_Closing her eyes, she took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm herself down, there was no use panicking, she wouldn't be able to help anyone if she panicked._

_As soon as she made up her mind and placed her hands upon his shoulders to move him over onto his back, she noticed his hands twitch from the corner of her eyes, before they pushed down against the ground, not long after his elbows were bent up and pushing his body, attempting to sit up on his knees. _

_Feeling really guilty, Kaida stood up and grabbed firmly onto his shoulders, helping him up steadily, his mild groans didn't ease her guilt or worry, but soon they twisted him around, so that he was now facing her and was sat on his butt, leaning against the very tree he'd just flew head-first into._

_She knelt down beside him on her knees once more and asked "Are you alright?! Do you need a Doctor?! Oh God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you to break your neck, it hurts doesn't it?! Of course it does!" _

_By this time Kaida was smacking her clenched fists against the sides of her head, trying to stop herself from babbling on to him like some loony, also trying to make light of the situation and trying to think of what to do next. _

_It was obvious he had a broken neck, the way his head was slumping against the tree and onto his right shoulder, his neck looking rather red and the bone was poking outwards against his skin, a small lump had protruded there, it made her want to vomit at the sight._

_He merely stared at her with dazed eyes magenta eyes, as if he'd just woken up from a restful nap or was high on some king of drug, before he…wait…chuckled?_

_Though, the wince of pain that flashed across his face didn't go unnoticed, it probably hurt too much to laugh properly or snicker like he had done earlier._

_Another thought then hit her; how could he move and laugh if his neck was broken? Surely he wouldn't be able to move his body, since it'd be in too much pain if he tried to move?_

"_You stupid bitch, I don't need a fucking Doctor, no one told you, did they? I'm immortal, so I won't die, this'll heal eventually…" Hidan stated through clenched teeth, he did look very much in pain, his eyes flashing fire, even so, held a small smirk upon his tight lips._

_Kaida sighed in huge relief, thankful that he wouldn't die because of her recklessness, despite the fact that she was only trying to prevent herself from getting stabbed by him, either way, he was immortal and he said he'd be fine, so she was glad about that._

_This just meant that he could no longer teach her for the rest of the day and that she'd have to wait until Pein and Konan came to get her to see what they would do with the immortal._

_Until then, it looked as though, all they could do was sit, wait and talk the times by, either that or she supposed she could practise some punches, maybe practise her aim again or she could perhaps use her super-strength to knock down a few trees._

_Instead, she bowed her head solemnly, he looked very uncomfortable and rather…subdued, it was so unusual to see the loud and cursing man she'd met earlier, suddenly become so quiet, this was making her feel more guilty, she wished he'd curse at her like he'd done earlier, to prove that he was fine, then that would at least ease some of her guilt._

"_I'm sorry, I was careless-" before she could finish her apology, she heard him snort loudly, raising her head now, she stared at him in surprise as his hands went up to his head and moved his head so that it was up straight like normal, it looked as though he was healing already, he exclaimed "Too-right bitch! Gah, this fucking kills! And it's that stupid fucking tree's fault for being there! I mean, who in Jashin's name would place a fucking tree there, right in my fucking way?!"_

_Kaida stared at him, then looked up at the tree in question, seeing the cracked dent in the tree from where Hidan had hit his head, she then looked back at him and smiled a little in amusement. _

_The trees were rather close together, although he'd used a deadly attack on her, it wasn't the most wisest move to use when in such a close space, the tree's were probably about twelve metres away from each other, that didn't leave much room for attacks, that was mainly why she preferred the skies rather than the ground, there were so many ways for her to get caught up in branches and vines because her wings were quite big, where as in the sky, she could hide behind clouds, swoop, sore and dodge weapons and jutsu's easily._

_She got up and began searching for his scythe, thinking it was best to get his weapon now, whilst he was down than let him get up and maybe hurt himself even more trying to find it, she was just hoping Pein and Konan wouldn't be so harsh on her, it was an accident after all._

"_Oi-oi! Where the fuck are you going, bitch? Don't leave me here on my own!" Hidan snapped at the Angel as she began wondering off into the forest, ignoring him, she went off to search, she knew that his scythe weren't too far away from where they were, she just needed to follow the metal cord that was connected to the end of it._

_All was now silent in the forest, Hidan had most likely given up in calling to her to stay with him when he was badly injured, but she wanted to do something to apologise, since she wouldn't have him complaining later and making it out to be her fault, when it was clearly an accident._

_Her eyes lowered to the ground, following the metal cord that laid along the ground and went on through the trees, she just hoped that no one else was in the forest besides them._

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**A/N: **Hello again! I just want to shout out a **big **thank you to; 'watergoddesskasey' and 'Riayna Darkheart' for reviewing my story once again, I really appreciate it!

**!Reviews are appreciated!**


	16. Faze Sixteen

**A/N: **Hey! Once again another chappie has been complete! Thank goodness, since I've been battling illness's galore! But am hopefully on my way to recovery, it's just so freezing here in England, you could probably set some penguins out in my street and they'd survive happily, just chirping away to themselves .

I want a penguin…but, looks like I'll have to make-do with my magical dancing penguin bookmark! :D

It's one of those bookmarks that move every time you bend it one way-Y'know that sort of funny material?

Well, that's what it is and they're just normal penguins on some ice-cap, but…being me and my short-attention-span, I created something rather more interesting…DANCING PENGUINS!

Whenever I'm bored, I pick it up and flip it about and make beat noises that are like a drum and make them dance to the beat, it makes my nan laugh every time I do that in front of her, lol.

Well! Enough about dancing penguins and onto the story! ^^

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_**Faze Sixteen:**_

_It didn't take that long for Kaida to find Hidan's scythe and as she'd predicted, it was rammed right into a thick oak tree, this made the Angel frown, it looked as though it were wedged in so far that she knew it wouldn't be easy getting it out, not only that, but it was also high up in tree and worst of all, it looked very heavy._

_She sighed to herself wistfully, before she rolled up her imaginary sleeves, imitating someone that had to go out and do a hard days' work, before she pulled her goggles over her eyes to protect them in case splinters should fly out, then flapped her wings down and then she was in the air once more, just above the scythe and there she found her problem._

_Whilst her wings flapped every so often to keep her in the sky, she crossed her legs again as she'd done earlier when trying to keep away from Hidan, instead, she had the free-time to think to herself, without having to worry about being interrupted._

_In the end, she shrugged and decided that her in-human strength should be enough to pull it out without having to use any chakra, however, she'd have to be careful when pulling it out, she didn't want it to slip out of her hands and cut herself, she weren't going to give Hidan back his scythe with blood on it, she weren't going to become a sacrifice willingly._

_Rubbing her hands together in determination, she straightened her body and went to the scythe, her hands gripped the metal pole of the outrageously large weapon and placing her feet against the tree itself, whilst her wings flapped hard, she began to pull it out._

_At first it was stuck, almost as if someone had cemented it in the tree, which made it virtually impossible to budge, but, as she kept pulling with her arms and pushing with her feet against the tree, she managed to slowly wedge it out, before finally, it was yanked out and because the weight was rather unexpected, Kaida soon found herself falling down to the ground once more with the weapon alongside her._

_Before hitting the ground, she quickly flipped her body round in the air, so that her feet would be the first things to touch the ground and not her head, her head turned to her left and she found the scythe falling just a little above her, quickly now, her left arm shot up and gripped the scythe securely in her small fist._

_Before long, her feet met the ground and immediately pushed herself off and into the air, she was flying once more, except this time, she couldn't get very far in the sky, since Hidan's scythe weighed as much as her axe upon her back not only that, but, she also had a backpack on her back filled with her lunch and bandages. _

_It was too much to carry at once, well, too much for her small frame to possibly balance._

_Although she had large wings, carrying too much upon the back wouldn't be the best idea if ever being stalked by the enemy division._

_This was becoming more of a task by the minute and she hoped that when she got back to Hidan, he wouldn't start shouting at her again, especially, since she made the effort to go and get his scythe for him-and-all._

_She already felt guilty enough!_

_Shaking her head, she knew that she had to be prepared to face whatever came her way, she's an adult now, she had to prove herself worthy if she wanted to stay alive within this organization. _

_At least this time, she had her own apartment and got to learn some pretty-awesome skills that she wouldn't have been able to find and learn otherwise._

_That was her compensation, it would just have to satisfy her for now._

_Kaida decided to continue flying through the sky, just above the trees, trying not to strain her wings from all the extra-weight she was carrying today, that would be more than enough bad luck to ever happen in one day! _

_Glancing away from the ground and trees below, Kaida saw in the distance a flock of birds flying through the air in an almost arrow-headed-shaped formation, their wings were also a similar shade of white just as hers are and Kaida found herself staring at them longingly._

_They looked so free and beautiful against the white clouds, it looked as though they understood each other and accepted each other without a care in the world, a truly magnificent sight to behold, if you were able to communicate with the birds as she could. _

_Kaida felt her eyes moisten as she couldn't help but wish that she could be accepted by someone. _

_More than anything, she wished to be somewhere where others didn't judge her for her looks, she disliked bullies and she didn't see why they were always picking on her, she couldn't help how she looked; she was born that way. _

_All she just wanted was to make some friends._

_A scowl broke upon her features as she reminded herself that she was in Akatsuki now, she couldn't have silly, girly dreams like that, not anymore._

_She had to be tough and strong, she couldn't allow herself to be swayed by depression or anyone else that came along and gave her some sort of sob story._

_She may be friends with Deidara, Kisame and maybe Itachi, however, that didn't mean that they'd go out of their way to defend her if she was ever in trouble, they barely knew her for crying out loud!_

_Besides, it just meant they were staying out of other people's fights and she could totally understand that, since she knew they already had loads of enemies already, adding a few more may not necessarily be such a bad-thing, but, if it could be avoided then they would._

_Her thoughts then drifted back to her mother and then she found herself pausing above the trees, suddenly deep in thought. _

_She honestly didn't know what to think of Konan, her mother was so confusing at times, that she didn't know whether she still hated her…or not. _

_At first her mother had hated her and made it unbearable to be around her, but now…it seemed that her mother…tolerated her presence within her life, like she'd accepted that she was here to stay. _

_And that was what made Kaida so confused._

_After Konan had been so spiteful to her, Kaida knew that she wouldn't take it like a bitch, she would fight back, however, by then, they'd both detested each other highly, but, after spending some time with her-alone and not doing anything remotely criminal, it felt…nice, like they'd been doing it for years, almost as if it were second-nature to them._

_It was like Konan was finally accepting her in the organization and in her life._

_Kaida felt something in her chest lift, her chest felt lighter and she realised that she was actually happy at this turn of events, she was happy after so much pain-that she could probably scream out her joy._

_Though she wouldn't do that, it weren't a very bright idea considering she was in a huge forest in God-knows-where-land-since she'd never asked Pein or her mother where they'd been taking her to train everyday._

_She really needed to remind herself to ask them where they were taking her next time, if she ever got in some sort of trouble, she didn't want to be getting herself lost._

_Perhaps now, she was finally bonding with her mother? _

_Maybe now…they could be friends, if not a family, then she'd at least like to be friends, it would be the best thing she could hope for given the circumstances, it'd be like a dream come true._

_Of course, Konan annoyed her at times, but, that didn't stop her from hoping, from dreaming, that maybe someday they could be friends? _

_She just couldn't believe she hadn't seen it coming!_

_She'd been so worked up over her training, that she'd forgotten all about her relationship with Konan and when she did, she'd just focused on her hate and not recognising that her mother had actually softened towards her!_

_Quickly now, Kaida reminded herself that she needed to take things slowly and not get so worked up, Konan could just be going through a faze or may be more tolerant towards her because she felt sorry for her-though, she highly doubted the latter._

_However, she knew she had to be careful, her happiness could be crushed just as easily as it'd come to her and then she'd feel nothing but emptiness and pain once more._

_More than anything, she didn't want to become a mindless zombie again, she wouldn't let the organization crush her spirits, she just had to be herself once more and take things as they come, not try and fight against it all the time, that would be pointless and would only cause frustration and exhaustion-something which she didn't want to feel after a long day of training._

_She nodded to herself, confirming her 'plan' and decided to be cautious, there was nothing wrong with being cautious-at least, that way, she wouldn't be so vulnerable to being let-down._

_Kaida soon began flying over to the clearing in the distance where she'd left the foul-mouthed Hidan, she knew he couldn't walk-though, she weren't too sure about that now, since he'd managed to move himself to sit up against the tree-which swiftly led her to wonder how fast it'd take him to heal._

_She almost heaved a sigh of relief when she could still see Hidan leaning up against the tree, his back was still facing towards her, since she was flying to him from behind, so she couldn't make out his expression._

_Though, she knew it would be anything but platonic once she lands._

_It was when she landed a little distance away from him that she was surprised to hear him mumbling, though, she couldn't hear or understand what it was that he was saying, curiosity got the better of her. _

_She slowly trotted up to him, hoping not to disturb him from what she believed was Hidan talking to himself, she knew it, the moment she'd set her eyes on him that he was insane._

_Perhaps she needed to get a doctor after all? Maybe one for the head?_

_It was only when she got to his side, that she saw his left arm holding his rosary around his neck-to his lips, his murmuring was muffled by the pendant, and so, he didn't notice that she was stood there beside him. _

_It was like he was in some sort of trance, except, he was continuously murmuring incoherent words to himself, over-and-over._

_So, instead of trying to break him from his 'trance-like-state', she glided along to sit in front of him and wait patiently, at least, he can't shout at her for not coming back or for bothering him._

_She crossed her legs and sat in front of him, remembering to stay away from him-just in case he pulled any surprise attacks on her when she had her guard-down, it wouldn't ultimately surprise her if he did try._

_Instead, she took to just staring at him, maybe, if she made him feel so uncomfortable, he might just stop and notice her? _

_And so, for about ten minutes, she sat and stared at him patiently, waiting for any signs to tell her that he was finished._

_Though, she had to wait another five minutes before that happened and when he finally let out a deep sigh-which immediately ceased his trance-like-chanting, opening those unusual eyes of his to see her sat there, watching him curiously, he couldn't help snarling at her. _

"_So, you finally came back, huh-bitch?"_

_Kaida merely smiled at him, not giving him a remark-since she knew he was the hot-headed type o react quickly to minor teasing. _

_However, she pulled his scythe from behind her back and chucked a little away from him, so that it would land blade-into-the-ground, right next to him. _

_He glanced curiously from the corners of his eyes and all he could do was glance back and stare at her and then his scythe, before looking back to her once more, he asked "You went and got my scythe? For _me_?"_

_Kaida looked a little confused by that, though, swiftly realised that he hadn't sworn at her yet, so she smiled a little and answered "Of course, you couldn't get it yourself, so I went and got it for you, it's my way of saying; 'sorry', I really didn't mean for you to break your neck, it must hurt…"_

_He stared at her for a few moments, digesting what she said, then blinked and snorted a little, before muttering "If it means so fucking much to you-then fine! I accept your fucking apology, but, don't expect any shit in return, as you've already guessed I'm not very patient, I get pissed easily, so don't even fucking try!"_

_Kaida nodded once, secretly, she was grateful he didn't feel the need to owe her something in return, since she weren't too sure she'd like how he'd re-pay her. _

_Feeling the urge to change the subject-and fast, she took off her backpack quickly, noticing from the corner of her eye that Hidan was watching with hinted interest to what she was doing._

_She rummaged through her backpack, looking beneath her bandages and finally found her lunch, pulling it out, she exclaimed "Yay! Time for food!"_

_Hidan stared at her with narrowed eyes, wondering where she got such enthusiasm and that deep-down he realised he'd been a bit too quick to judge her, not only can she be a bitch, but, she's also an enthusiastic-bitch, something that Hidan didn't bode well with at all._

_Kaida unwrapped the silver rapping around her rice balls, feeling her stomach rumbling faintly, she got rather excited at the prospect of finally eating, though, when she glanced up, she saw Hidan staring at her, unsure as to why he was staring at her, she completely misjudged him and lifted the silver packet towards him, offering him some food that she'd made earlier that morning before leaving to meet Pein and Konan, though, she bit her lip, trying to tell herself not to get wound up by his swearing at her, it was obviously a habit of his and she could gather from the way he acted, that he weren't going to change it anytime soon._

"_Want one?" She asked, deliberately not meeting his eyes, since she'd never shared her lunch before with anyone-let alone a man, this was a first, she just hoped he liked her cooking and perhaps would make him less harsh towards her by being nice._

_He stared at her suspiciously, wondering why she was being so...friendly, before shrugging and picking up two from the four that was in the packet, since she already had one in her free-hand and was chewing on it quietly._

_He hated to admit, but, he was sure hungry and he wouldn't turn down the chance to get some free food, he just hoped that she could cook, if it was poisoned-he would kill her within the next opportunity he got._

_He took a bite and chewed on it silently, settling back against the tree, he was glad to find that his jaw was still working, however, swallowing was another matter altogether._

_When he did, he made a kind of retching sound, which swiftly caught the Angel's attention, she jumped up, rushing over to his side, she began rubbing his back a little, hoping to make him feel better, when he did, he coughed a couple of times before slowly resting back against the tree, he then pushed her away a little and growled "I'm fine."_

_As she took her seat once more, she could see his face a little red from embarrassment, it was clear that he weren't used to being helped or shown appreciation in any way before, so she didn't take any offence to it._

"_So, how was it?" She found herself asking, hating this uncomfortable silence, she saw him glance up, before he muttered gruffly "S'alright…"_

_He added a small shrug, showing that he wasn't bothered or interested, but, she was just glad he hadn't started swearing at her and shouting that her food was awful, it meant that it was, at least, tolerable._

_Instead, they sat in silence and ate their lunch._

* * *

_Lunch was soon over and seeing this as an opportunity to practise some tips she'd learned earlier that week, she jumped up and pulled her gloves tighter on her hands, looking around for something to smash to pieces._

_She glanced around the whole clearing and found herself unsuccessful, there weren't any boulders or even any stones anywhere near her!_

_Only trees, Hidan, more trees, some birds and more trees…and-wait!_

_Trees!_

_That's it!_

_She could just practise on trees, she'd been successful with boulders, why not try trees?_

_Of course, she'd have to keep it away from Mr. Foul-mouth behind her._

_She glanced over her shoulder to see him staring at her with what looked to be a glare, though, she couldn't exactly tell, since his head was leaned away from her, though, it seemed that his mouth-once again, didn't spare the opportunity to hiss curses at her._

"_What the fuck are you up to now, Angel-bitch?"_

_It almost seemed like an innocent question, minus the swear words and the fact that it came from someone-whom weren't at all Angelic in the slightest._

_She gave a half-shrug and stated "Just practising, I need something to do."_

_In answer to this, Hidan merely snorted and rolled his eyes, before they closed and it seemed that he'd fallen asleep, for she didn't hear a peep out of him for the rest of the afternoon, even when she was punching trees out of the ground._

* * *

_It was a few hours later that Pein and Konan appeared before the two from within thick smoke, when it disappeared, their bored expressions quickly dissolved into something that looked very much like surprise._

_Indeed, they were rather surprised to see Hidan leaning against a tree, seeing his eyes flutter open, no doubt from that suspiciously quiet nap of his, whilst Kaida straightened and rubbing some sweat from her brow, she gave them a small smile, they too, also noticed the masses of piles of trees that'd been murdered by her brutal strength._

_Pein's immediate thought, was that it was a good-thing Zetsu weren't here to see the carnage of all these trees that'd been innocent bystanders in this lesson._

_Though, Pein's stare quickly intensified and he shot an angered glance at Hidan, asking "I thought you were supposed to be training? Why are you just sat there?"_

_Hidan snorted rudely at the question, hearing Pein's scorn in his deep voice, he supplied the answer and once again didn't hold back on the urge to swear like a sailor. _

"_It was thanks to that bitch, one moment I fucking had her, then the next…I didn't, anyway, thanks to her dodging, I broke my fucking neck!" Kaida was rather surprised to see that Hidan didn't even shoot a glare at her, he also didn't look that mad at her, but, when she looked at Pein and Konan, she was even more surprised at their expressions._

_They were…smiling!_

_Why the hell were they smiling at the idea of Hidan having broken his neck?_

_A small shiver ran down her spine, it seemed they had some sick sense of humour._

"_You did well, Kaida, I'm very surprised that you were actually able to immobilize the loud-mouth there." Pein spoke, his voice held some fracture of humour in it and even Konan nodded in approval, their eyes were smiling at Kaida and Hidan, clearly basking in this…'humorous' situation._

_Hidan suddenly found it very un-humorous and began growling deep in his throat, snapping "How is this fucking funny?! I'm in pain here-and you're both just laughing! Huh!"_

_However, his momentary sulk didn't last long, since Pein went over to him and stated "I would leave you out here until you'd healed since you still haven't curved your language, especially in the presence of female company, but, since you did break your neck, I will take you back to that hotel you were staying at last night."_

_Hidan's mouth curved into a sadistic smirk and muttered "Gee, you're such a smooth-talker, you haven't even taken me out for dinner and already taken me back to my hotel room!"_

_Kaida choked back a laugh and quickly looked away to whistle, not even bothering to make it less obvious that she found Hidan's little…protest amusing._

_Luckily, she'd missed Pein's glare and Hidan's humoured look that went from the Leader of the Akatsuki and onto the subordinate, reminding himself to crack jokes at Pein and Konan more often._

_Pein immediately shot a small glare at Hidan and muttered "Or perhaps I should just leave you out here, instead?"_

_Hidan's face immediately changed to that of one with the puppy eyes and began whimpering "Ugh! Please, don't leave me out here all by myself!"_

_Pein made an annoyed sound at the back of his throat and quickly nodded to Konan over his shoulder, it was confirming something that went unspoken between them, since they'd been partners for years, they're able to communicate without the use of words most of the time._

_Kaida seemed to have understood this and gave Hidan a small bow and muttered "I hope you get better soon and thank you-" Hidan cut her off with a toothy grin and stated "Meh! Don't get sappy about it!"_

_Kaida smiled at him once she'd straightened up and seeing Pein and Hidan disappear within more smoke, she sighed quietly, going over to her bag, she picked it up and silently walked over to her mother._

_Konan held her hand out for her daughters and waited patiently, once Kaida had the back-pack secure upon her back, she laid her hand in her mothers and stated with a grin "I'm glad that's over."_

_And they too, disappeared._

* * *

**A/N: **Ooh! It seems that Konan and Kaida are slowly getting to become friends! Imagine Pein being all emo in the corner of his dark office, sulking, because Konan's having more fun with Kaida shopping than sleeping with him!

…Okay, that wasn't necessary, lol.

Ahem! And onto my rounds of thanking reviewers! :D

I want to shout out a **big** thank you to; 'watergoddesskasey'.

Thank you for your review, glad you like the story ^^

**!Reviews are appreciated!**


	17. Faze Seventeen

**A/N:** I want to apologise that I don't get these chappie's out as quick as I used too, I just don't spend much time on my computer anymore, since I'm up to my eyeballs in assignments and my teachers are a load of twats.

Also, my internet has been playing up AGAIN, so I'm trying to sort it out ASAP.

This is the first time in a couple of weeks I'm able to do some typing and boy, I'm going to make the most of it, lol.

Anywho, onto the story! ^^

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_**Faze Seventeen:**_

_Kaida came out of her bathroom, all dry and fresh, her shower had been lovely and warm and just the thing she'd needed after training again earlier that day._

_Now, she had the rest of the evening to herself just to chill-out and-oh, who was she kidding?_

_She was flat-out bored!_

_She didn't know what to do with herself now, Konan had left a little while after walking Kaida back to her apartment, as if, trying to cease the little hints of worry at the back of her mind, not that Konan had said or even looked remotely worried or concerned, which was nothing unusual, since Konan barely let any emotion run across her face, except for that of only subtle surprise and boredom, even more so, since she's always wearing that sleepy look._

_And now, Kaida had very little to do, she'd just had a shower and was now dressed in dark grey, baggy trousers and a white t-shirt for bed, slipping on a pair of socks that she carried around with her to use for bed-especially when it got colder, she stood in the small kitchen and tried to think of something to make for dinner._

_Preferably, something not too greasy or time-consuming. _

_Then again, with very little else to do for the rest of the evening, she supposed she could do something hearty and OTT for a change, after all, all she ever did was some fish, rice and maybe fried vegetables if she wished it._

_Clapping her hands together, she went over to the cabinets and decided to make some casserole and dumplings, she'd make loads, so she wouldn't have to go out of her way to cook for a few days, all she'd have to do would cook some rive or fry some vegetables with it, simple._

_She pulled out a saucepan and began grabbing potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, baked beans, mushrooms and cauliflowers for her stew, meanwhile, she let her mind wonder._

_What would tomorrow's teacher be like?_

_She hoped it wouldn't be another Hidan, she didn't like cursing, only doing it when necessary and even then, it were mild and not in every sentence._

_She briefly remembered Kisame stating that she had someone named; Kakza? Kukox? Kakuzu-that's the one!_

_Apparently, he had a short temper, Kaida gave a snort to this and weren't surprised by this, since most of the others didn't seem to be on the patient-side, they all were strong and no doubt, training someone weaker than them, was something they'd probably pictured out of their nightmares._

_That's if criminals had nightmares…_

_Pausing to think about that for a moment, she then shrugged and continued peeling the food and before she knew it, she was talking to herself, something which she did very often-when alone in the 'safety' of her apartment._

_Safety-her-arse!_

_Someone had left the friggin' toaster underneath the sink! _

_The sink for crying-out-loud!_

_If that was one way to get yourself electrocuted then there really weren't a quicker way to go about it, luckily, when she'd used the toaster, it was fine, something to be even more lucky about, was that she hadn't had any trouble with the apartment, okay, so the walls were a bit bland and the kitchen wasn't exactly…big, but, she hadn't had any problems with the plumbing or electricity upon arriving and who knows? _

_Maybe she could buy some paint and pictures to hang up, she still had some money left to use, might as well splash it out on the apartment, especially, since she's going to be living here for at least a few more years._

_There was nothing worse than staring at plain walls when bored._

_Lowering the spud that she was currently peeling, her eyes drifted around the kitchen, falling upon the white walls and her nose instantly screwed-up._

"_Maybe I should get some paint…hmm, perhaps a pale, primrose? Definitely something warm for the kitchen…maybe…gold and red for the lounge room? Oh, the bedroom! Hmm, well, I'm terrible at drawing, so, I don't think painting would work…but I would like something unique in that room…and the bathroom-ugh! Definitely a warm blue-with seashell tiles!" Her murmurings gave her some comfort, she didn't feel so alone in the apartment when she talked to herself, besides, who else would hear her ramblings?_

_She didn't live with anyone else, which was another miracle, considering there was only one bedroom, if someone ever did stay over then they'd have to sleep on the couch, or if someone had to share the flat with her, then she'd have to convert the lounge room into another bedroom and perhaps get a TV put in her room?_

_Well, she didn't have to worry, that weren't going to happen, something else she was pretty sure Pein wouldn't allow; making friends with outsiders._

_Kaida got a little annoyed again and was peeling the spud with more energy as she snapped out loud "Huh! Outsider-indeed! I used to be an outsider too, until…"_

'_No, Kaida! You weren't ever going to go there again! This is not the time for you to get upset, I mean, c'mon…dinner needs to be made…and tomorrow you're meeting another criminal-wow, these days just keep getting better and better!' Kaida thought to herself in determination._

_Yes, again, sarcasm inclined._

_Either way, she didn't know where to find a shop that sells paint and then she also never had time to decorate her apartment what with all the 'lessons' she had and usually when she comes back she's too tired to do much but shower, make dinner and go to bed._

_Once again she merely shrugged to herself, she'd just have to make some time to have a wander about the village for some new paint, she could ask her mother, but, she weren't particularly thrilled about bothering her mother-the Akatsuki leader's partner for something as trivial as paint!_

_No, she'd go looking for a shop sometime soon, she'd just have to drag herself out into that horrid…cold…wet rain and find something to cheer up her apartment._

_After twenty minutes the food was cooking on the stove in the kitchen, giving her plenty enough time to go and write up in her diary._

_Kaida walked along to her bedroom, although it was dark in there, she could remember where everything was, the end of her bed was nearest the door, then her chest of drawers directly to her right as she entered into her bedroom, she continued to walk on in and found the bedside table-obviously next to the bed and upon that lay her diary and favourite deep blue pen that she always used to write with._

_She picked both of them up, only hesitating long enough when she heard the rain smashing against her window, making it sound as though someone was trying to get in._

_She hesitantly stood by the window, seeing the rain hitting against the double-glazed glass, her right hand latched onto the deep blue curtains, swiftly pulling them across, shutting out the huge, bright moon that was high up in the sky, just visible in the heavy downpour._

_However, something had made her hand pull the curtains shut, of course she weren't being controlled, but, something had urged her to shut out all possible prying eyes from looking in on her, staring at her._

_But…who would be out in this weather and at this time of night?_

_Slowly now, Kaida backed away from the window, feeling thankful that she hadn't switched her bedroom light on to see her way around the room, since she had a very strong feeling that someone was watching her._

_Someone she didn't know._

_Quickly now, she raced back into the kitchen, she dropped her diary onto the white counter in front of herself and her hands immediately found purchase by gripping onto the sides of the counter-tops for dear-life, her knuckles turned white, as she hunched over and began taking deep breaths._

'_Calm down, Kaida, there wasn't anyone out there, not in this weather and not looking at _you_, you're just being paranoid!' Her mind tried to reason with her better sense of judgement, since, in the past, whenever she had a gut feeling that something wasn't right, she usually followed her instincts and every time her 'paranoia' told her to stop and keep well-away, she did, and every time, her 'paranoia' was proven to be correct._

_What was even worse, was that she was all alone in her apartment and she didn't know where her mother lived, though, she had no doubt that Konan was living-and sleeping with Pein, and within this heavy downpour she had no hope in flying around, she was utterly abandoned…_

_She really did feel like she'd been tossed aside, Pein hadn't even spoken a word of what would happen if an intruder should break into her apartment, she couldn't just go killing people without knowing the laws…and punishments for her actions._

_It was almost as if they did that deliberately, to test her abilities, to see if she really was using her brain, if she could think for herself._

"_Oh Kaida, calm down, you're safe in here, all the windows are locked, the front door is locked, it's late, the weather is terrible and it's not as if you're weak." Kaida muttered to herself, though, exactly after saying this, a crack of lightning flashed outside, making her jump as the lights around her and the stove all switched off, making her jump slightly._

_Quickly now, Kaida grabbed her diary and pen, sinking to the floor in a small huddle, she wrapped her arms around herself, burying her head in arms, she felt her paranoia break out, she began shivering and tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. _

"_I want my mummy!" She whimpered loudly to the silence, wishing for nothing more than Konan to be how she used to be, come into her room after she'd been screaming from her nightmares, have her mother's arms wrapped around her, making her feel warm and cared for, her mother's soothing voice, consoling her into calming down and eventually making her believe that everything would be alright._

_If there was ever a time she wanted a hug, it was now._

_After Konan had left her, her nightmares continued, but this time, focused all on her mother abandoning her, never to return, ignoring her love and wishes for them to be together forever._

_Kaida became lonely, she no longer got the hugs most kids got when they were upset, scared or just simply because they desired one, she never got a warm smile, a positive greeting when she arrived home, she never got to show her mother her headband after she'd graduated from the academy, she never again had stories read to her, never got to cook or shop with her mother, never got to show her _anything_._

_Konan had missed out on so much in her life, so much that she hadn't needed to miss out on, she could've been there to see it all, Kaida would've been a good girl, she would've done almost anything to make her mother stay and love her._

_But, she hadn't, Konan hadn't stayed, hadn't cared, instead, she wanted her dead, hated her, even now, after what she thought was them bonding, was possibly nothing more than sympathy._

_Look after the girl that had no family and would be friends with anyone, the girl that was rather weak, the girl that most likely had no future, the girl that cried when she was hurt, the girl that wanted the family dream, the dream to re-create the past, make it better than what it really was, make it into something that could be the most wonderful thing in the world._

_Love._

_Kaida lifted her head and glanced down at her diary, smiling a little through her tears, she muttered "At least I still have you…you're always there for me…when no one else is…"_

_And then her heart broke._

* * *

**A/N: **This was probably a weird chappie to read, but, it was sort of taken from my own feelings that I feel sometimes, I often feel that my diary is the only one there for me in the difficult times, so I wanted to add something personal in there as well.

Well, I'm very sorry that this wasn't an exciting chappie, I promise the next one will be better, I'm just rather pissed off about my internet being such a bitch, but, anywho, at least I haven't forgotten about this story! :D lol

And onto the reviewers!

I'm shouting out a **big** thank you to; 'SammywithSwagger', 'watergoddesskasey' and 'Rianya Darkheart' for their lovely reviews!

**!Reviews are appreciated!**


	18. Faze Eighteen

_**A/N:** __Hey-guys! I'm back again and with some slight good news; This chappie is extra-long and much better than the last one! Simply, because I thought the previous chappie sucked Might Guy's toe-nails *which is a VERY sickening thought, so I'll just shiver away to myself for the rest of the evening* I was VERY disappointed with the last chappie, so I decided to make this one as best as I could-given the fact that I'm so fucking busy with college work and Christmas shopping, I barely have any time to myself anymore. Today, I've just worked non-stop, so I'll be very glad once I can snuggle down into my bed covers, nice-and-warm. Anywho! Sorry for the long introduction and I apologise for the last chappie sucking like dead fish on a mouldy piece of cheese… . Okies, this is your cue to read and ignore me now, lol._

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* * *

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_**Faze Eighteen:**_

_The next morning didn't come quick enough for Kaida, having been up most of the night, encased in darkness, since the electricity had suddenly gone off all around the village, what was even worse, was being in the dark-with a lightning storm._

_Every time the lightning struck and made a flash against the darkened room, she jumped, it also didn't help with the loud clap of thunder that echoed after it, making her shiver._

_Kaida hadn't been able to shake the feeling that someone was watching her, or rather, her apartment._

_It was one of those times where she felt her innards turn over violently threatening to make her sick and sent warning bells ringing in her head, telling her that something was wrong._

_She didn't know who it was that'd been out there, she didn't even know who'd be crazy enough to sit outside and watch someone else's apartment during a heavy downpour, what was worse, she didn't even know any of the locals around in the village, she didn't know who to trust and who to be wary of._

_It was one of the reasons why she never stayed in one town for more than a week, it meant making a commitment and getting on with neighbours, not that she was particularly interested in living anywhere permanently._

_In fact, if someone mentioned to her the very idea of settling down and raising a family or just living somewhere quietly would make her laugh…very hard._

_Oh, the irony of it all._

_Getting off track…_

_She'd eventually fallen asleep in the lounge room, she'd specifically steered clear of her bedroom, having caught onto someone watching her through her window, she hadn't been able to shake that horrid feeling that they could easily climb into her room at night._

_Either way, she was determined to get some sleep, so, she resorted to the sofa._

_Of course she'd tip-toed into her bedroom, fearing that by making a small sound, it would alert her one-man audience._

_She grabbed a pillow and a blanket, keeping her diary with her the entire time, hugging it close to her chest, needing to feel comforted by something familiar._

_In the end, dinner had been a total flop, it'd barely stewed for more than two minutes before the lights and all electricity had gone off, she'd begrudgingly placed the food she'd make for a stew into the fridge, praying mentally that the cooker would be working the next day so she could have a decent meal._

_One thing Kaida enjoyed and that was her food, she weren't a glutton by any standards, she just liked her food, so when she had to resort to a banana, biscuits and milk, it weren't what she'd had in mind for a perfect dinner and she'd certainly grumbled a lot about to herself quietly._

_Sometime through the night, she'd fallen asleep, only to waken to the sound of someone banging on the front door to her apartment._

_Still half-asleep, she'd completely forgotten about some perv that'd been staring at her apartment like a hawk in the dead of night and during one of the worst storms she'd ever seen in the Rain village. _

_Instead, she merely yawned and dragged herself to the front door, still half-asleep and exhausted, she didn't have time to comprehend about looking through the eye-hole in her door, to check who it was._

_The moment she'd unbolted the door and turned the handle, the door was thrust open, to see Pein stood there, he looked very angry for some reason, his eyes were narrowed, his mouth was held in a tight line and his body was as straight as a ruler-if that were possible._

_And of course, he was swiftly followed by her mother, Konan looked far less concerned, she looked as she always did; stoned._

"_Where the bloody hell have you been?!" Pein hissed after Konan had calmly shut the door closed behind them-at least she seemed to be learning some manners, Pein seemed to have gone the opposite way and appeared to be losing his along with his sanity, if he had any left._

_Kaida raised an eyebrow, staring at him with half-lidded eyes, she hissed "Well, obviously I was asleep, until you starting waking the entire village up with your loud banging."_

_Something seemed to spark in Pein's eyes as he snapped "The whole village is already awake in case you haven't noticed?! It's lunchtime already!"_

_Something snapped into place and Kaida found herself staring at them with a surprised expression, she'd been asleep…what? _

_Maybe…seven hours?_

_She didn't get to sleep until four in the morning, having been starving herself the night before, drying her tears and trying to reason with herself and tell her that there was no one watching her._

_However, her surprise didn't last long, her face fell into the sleepy expression she'd been previously wearing and answered with some hint of annoyance "Oh dear, not my problem that I couldn't sleep properly last night."_

_Kaida was never a morning person and Pein was never livid to the point of shouting, his voice rose at times, but he never shouted or bellowed like he did at that moment._

"_Get your lazy arse into some decent clothes, you're going to train today whether you like it or not!" _

_From the corner of her eyes, Kaida noticed that her mother glanced rather warily in Pein's direction, perhaps, she too had rarely ever seen Pein in such anger._

_It was one thing that Kaida had to be kept in the Rain village, under the watchful eyes of her mother and her lover and whoever else as well it seems, to be forced to train and become a part of a stupid organization filled with many rude men and on top of that, to have her mother being such a clod bitch towards her the entire time she's been here, but it was another thing entirely that Pein would shout at her._

_And she weren't going to take it like some lost puppy._

_Scratching the back of her head, she half-turned and stated coldly "I'll get dressed in my own time, I don't see why you're so angry, if you want an apology then just ask for one, but I won't do anything any _yells_ at me to do."_

_The ringing slap rang out through the room, so loud was the noise, that for a few moments, time seemed to have stopped._

_It was only as she fell into the wall to her left-side, that she snapped awake and suddenly felt the sharp, stinging pain on her left cheek, where she knew a bruise would eventually form, after the redness has gone down._

_However, she was in total shock, she'd never been slapped across the face before, she'd never been 'punished' by anyone before now, it was unusual and for a couple of minutes, she stood there stunned, her hand slowly lifting itself up to her cheek to cup it, her hair hanging over her face as a veil, not giving away any of her emotions._

_Slowly, she straightened up and glanced from the corner of her eyes at her mother, only to see that Konan looked unfazed, she was standing there as she had done after entering the room, but she could've sworn she saw something that resembled hurt, reflecting in her eyes._

_However, Pein was stood there silently, he looked more relaxed now, more calmer than before, it appeared that his anger had died out and it seemed as though the silence was his way of apologising._

_But, no matter whether he apologised or not-and she knew he wouldn't, she wouldn't accept his apology and why would he apologise?_

_He was a 'God' here after all and the Akatsuki leader, he had no need to apologise for the misery of one girl, whether she was an Angel or not, she weren't going to gain anything by standing here and waiting for one of them to talk._

_Instead, she merely turned away sharply, the hurt that she was determined not to show them, reflected in her own eyes, making hot and heavy tears sting at the back of her eyes, but, she was too proud to let them overflow in company, she'd cry when she's alone, it didn't matter then, no one would see her or judge her then._

_Either way, she knew now, that she would never speak out-of-term around Pein ever again._

* * *

"_There'd better be a damn good reason why I've been kept waiting for six hours." _

_The moment Kaida heard his voice, she felt something inside her twist in slight fear._

_He sounded mad, _very, very _mad._

_And could she blame him? She had stood him up for…six hours, that was showing great disrespect and the worst part was that apparently he was one of the least tolerant of the Akatsuki members, so if he chose to hurt her in any way, she knew she'd deserve it and wouldn't be able to defend herself._

_Though, after the morning's occurrence that ended up with her having a large bruise slowly forming across her cheek, she knew that'd be enough of pain for that moment, it would just have to suffice, though she had a feeling he wouldn't care either way._

_Ever since leaving her apartment, she hadn't uttered a word, she'd only had enough time to clean her teeth and brush her hair, she hadn't brought any food with her, no drink; nothing._

_As far as Pein and Konan were concerned, they were more than willing to let her wither away to nothing but skin-and-bones, another proof that they didn't give a rat's arse about her well-being._

_Taking a silent gulp for that extra-courage that she weren't feeling at that moment, she slowly forced herself to turn round and face the deep, raspy voice directly from behind herself._

_Just like Hidan, he too, had gone for her back, the back being almost every Ninja's blind-spot. _

_He was stood behind her, his arms hung down by his sides, one of them was holding a black briefcase in a tight grip, she glanced away from the briefcase and up…and even more up towards where his head was._

_So maybe she'd been exaggerating over how tall he was, one-thing she did know, was that he was around the same height as Kisame and that was saying something._

_Once again someone was taller than her!_

_Okay, Kaida had to admit it; she was never one to judge someone based on their appearance, instead, mainly how they acted around her or treated her, but, she just couldn't help but judge this man…Kakuzu-was it?_

_For one thing, why was he wearing a mask and cloth around his face? _

_Weren't he feeling hot in that get-up? Even Kaida was feeling the heat, which was unusual in the forest, normally, it was on an average temperature around the forest, making it just bearable without a jacket._

_However, today was another matter altogether, it seemed as though the sun was bearing upon her back, despite the shade of the trees towering over them._

'_He _must_ be feeling the heat!' The voice in Kaida's head exclaimed in disapproval._

_Instead, she merely shrugged to herself, somehow managing to catch his wary stare, or well, his glare, since no one had answered his question earlier and now with sudden shock, she realised she was almost showing as if she didn't care that he was waiting for her for over six hours!_

'_Oh God, I'm going to get it, I'm such a loser! Why can't I get anything right?!' Kaida mentally groaned to herself as she began sweating a little, quickly now she cowered away from him a little when he moved his arm with the briefcase held tight in his grip, seeming to adjust his grip on the handle._

_She really did not want to be on the end of his arm if he should strike out at her, though, she was pretty sure he'd have the pleasure of doing that during their training._

"_Kaida, this is; Kakuzu, he governs the finances of the Akatsuki, try not to get on his nerves, he has killed many of his former partners in the past." Pein introduced them, and although she was rather surprised to actually be told who did what in the organization, she gulped nervously to herself, worried that she might become a possible victim._

'_No! I don't want to die!' Kaida mentally began bawling her eyes out, whilst on the outside, she remained calm and alert._

_Well, anyone in their right-mind would be careful around a criminal, make that a bad-tempered criminal._

_Deciding that she didn't want to offend him any further, she quickly bowed low and muttered "I'm very sorry for keeping you waiting, I have no reasonable excuse for you."_

_To say he looked surprised would be an understatement, he was just stood there, only his eyes gave away any emotion, although, he did look very surprised, he still looked rather mad._

'_That's it, Kaida, be polite, apologise, since it actually was your fault, just try and stay on his good-side, Kisame warned you about him!' She thought to herself in one big massive outburst through her head._

"_Tardiness is something I've grown used to, having been around the biggest loud-mouth that was probably ever born in this world. Do not be late for me again, I won't be so lenient the next time." His rough tone made her wince very slightly, though, she couldn't help but smile mentally, she knew he had to be talking about Hidan, somehow she couldn't quite picture them as partners._

_Either way, she presumed Kakuzu had to put up with worse than what she was capable of, so she weren't too worried and soon straightened up, only to see Pein give Kakuzu a nod and both Konan and her lover disappeared in the usual dark-cloud of smoke._

_Kaida narrowed her eyes at where they were stood, she was more than eager to learn how to teleport, since they just kept popping up out of nowhere and disappearing the entire time, it was very annoying._

_Her eyes were swiftly stuck-on Kakuzu as he turned around and walked off towards a large rock that looked very much like a table, quietly, he placed his briefcase upon the rock, he opened the case and Kaida's eyes almost fell out at how much money she saw in the case._

_She gasped when his head snapped round to glare at her and her mouth immediately shut tight, before she asked innocently "Where did you get such a lot of money?"_

_It was probably because of her innocence that he sighed and motioned his hand towards her direction, seeing this, Kaida tensed up immediately, before she silently trudged up to stand next to him, her heart pounding in her ears, she wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it himself._

_He turned from her and slowly shut the briefcase, locking it at the front, his back was still to her when he asked "Do you know what bounty-hunting is?"_

_Her eyes widened terribly in fear, of course! There'd be no other way of him carrying so much cash around himself in the bloody forest!_

_He killed people for a living, well, just for the money-towards funding the organization, he was one of those cold-hearted killers that had no remorse and if she were to ask, she knew that he would have a lot of blood on his hands._

'_He must be very strong if no one dared to challenge him for the money, either that, or he'd killed them already…' she felt herself feeling more sick by the minute, unable to comprehend the fact that she was associating with a bounty-hunter._

_What was worse, she knew what he was going to say next and dreaded those words._

_He turned to face her fully now, leaving the briefcase on the rock, unguarded, he asked "Do you know how much an Angel would be worth?"_

_Kaida took a couple of steps back, as if she'd just been slapped and in a way, she had, looking at him, she knew now that didn't like him, he was all about collecting money, she didn't know whether to call him a miser, but she definitely knew he was rather greedy and had a knack for bounty-hunting._

_She knew he was experienced in that area, how else would he have gotten so much money from one bounty?_

"_Why would you want to kill me? I don't even have a place in the Bingo book yet and already you're wanting to kill me for money? You wouldn't get much until I've been recognised, barely anyone knows of my existence." Kaida stated in her defence, suddenly feeling a bit of courage emerging from within, not even letting her falter in telling him straight._

_She knew that she was so very rare, possibly the only Angel in the world and of course there was a question of one day starting a family, but whilst she was still useful, she will have to remain in the criminal organization-whether she liked it or not._

_However, she knew that if she did have a price marked upon her head, then it would probably be the highest price going, most likely even higher than any Kage or high-levelled criminal leader._

_Still, she could reason with him and as far as she was aware, she weren't allowed to be harmed in any way that could affect her health, that was what she'd gotten from listening to Pein berate the other members in being careful with her._

_Either way, she knew now to be just that little bit extra-careful around Kakuzu, he was a strong-one and she knew it, but he was the type to make someone quiver with his strength, since he didn't look as though he would make friends willingly and definitely didn't welcome anyone with a smile-not that you would see it._

_His eyes lifted to the sky and for a moment he was silent, seeming to lose that chaotic edge to his stance, he seemed as though he was no longer a threat and was now calm and willing to listen._

"_Hmm, I suppose you do have a point, might as well wait, I'm sure such a scrawny little weakling like you won't last long in this tough criminal organization, but anyway, let's start with this pathetic excuse of a 'lesson'."_

_And with that he charged himself at her in such blinding speed that he almost became invisible._

_It was just as he appeared in front of her, that she realised he weren't going to go easy on her and if she weren't careful, he would kill her._

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Finally, it's Kakuzu's turn! I can't believe how fucking LONG these training sessions are taking to type-up! I'm dying slowly as I'm typing these up, since it's just so hard to set the scene when it's pretty much in the same forest and is that this story of mine is set before anything happens in the Naruto Shippuden storyline. I know-I know, Hidan and possibly Deidara didn't join Akatsuki until end of the first Naruto arc and beginning of the Shippuden series, but, this story wouldn't work any other way and I REALLY wanted to type up a story with all the Akatsuki in without it sounding too sucky. Oh! Btw, TOBI ISN'T IN THE AKATSUKI YET. I really did make sure not to put him in there, since it'd just mess-up the whole plot and when it's set and it would also be pretty gay writing as Tobi AND Madara, since I struggle to type Madara's long monologue's as it is! Hehehe…

And onto the reviewers!

I'm shouting a **big** thank you to; 'Riayna Darkheart' and 'akatsuki-cloude' for their lovely reviews!

Glad someone else has joined the audience! :D

**!Reviews are appreciated!**


	19. Faze Nineteen

**A/N:** Hey, sorry for not updating sooner, I was struggling to finish my college work in-time before this exhibition my course was running to show our work to the public, I have to say, I was fucking shattered when I got home after spending most of the day doing nothing but staring at walls, talking to friends and drinking two glasses of strong white wine…I will admit it, I am underage to drink, the wine was disgusting and I don't hold my drink well. I almost kissed my crush! O.o Though, he didn't seem interested and most likely doesn't like me that way T_T I'm a sad panda now. Ah well, if it's not meant to be, then it won't happen, realistically, it wouldn't work-out anyhow, because we're two completely different people. For example; he listens to rap music (which I dislike intensely) whereas I listen to metal (which he hates a lot), oh, and did I mention he gets into trouble with police often? =_=

I hate my life sometimes -.-

* * *

_**Faze Nineteen:**_

_Rain splattered against the window pane from the outside, the sky was dark with rain clouds, it wouldn't be surprising if another storm took place, like the one the night before._

_The room was dark, no light was on, it was over-shadowed by darkness, which didn't seem right, for there was one person stood in the room, contained within this darkness that he seemed to find soothing._

_He was stood there, leaning against one of the walls, fiddling with a book that seemed to have taken his interest, despite the fact he weren't even looking at it._

_No, his single eye was dazed, staring beyond the rim of the ancient book which was almost as old as himself, he was staring into what he thought would be the future; a perfect future._

_No one but himself would know what he was envisioning, not even Pein or his stupid whore would find out how deep his plans and thoughts really went._

_A deep chuckle filled the room; his?_

_But of course, there weren't anyone else in the room apart from himself…right?_

"_The Angel will become strong, she will shine a beacon off through the darkness; my darkness, she won't be able to save anyone, she'll remain in my world for all eternity…" His cackle swiftly followed this statement, finding this highly amusing, who was he talking too? Himself?_

"_Never to escape, she'll become my trump-card…all mine…" A flash of lightning came from outside, already the storm was here._

_A single-red eye looked up towards the window as the thunder rumbled across the Heaven's afterwards._

_She hadn't seen him outside her apartment the night before, it was obvious she knew someone was out there watching in on her, but she still didn't know of him or his plans._

_But she would, one day, when she has fledged, she will become beautiful and strong, just like an Angel should, her purity and innocence was something he hadn't been able to forget ever since he'd cast his gaze over her pure-white wings and had caught that care-free smile that was warm and welcoming._

_Since when was the last time he'd felt something so…weak and emotional?_

_Too long has it been to remember his past and the emotions he'd once shared with another being, before he'd become insane, before he'd lost all sense of his morality, or better yet, he didn't have one, he never had._

_He just needed to be patient, if he could will himself to be patient enough, to wait for the Angel to become strong and for a certain young Uchiha join him in his urge for ultimate power and control, then all those years of waiting to climb out of the darkness and into the light will not have been in vain._

_Foolish girl, his Angel will not get away so easily, he will break her and she will obey him, no matter what._

_She will be his alone._

* * *

_Kaida grunted as she felt his punch all the way down to her toes, it was so powerful that if she hadn't angled her body properly, she knew she would be suffering with broken ribs and would be vulnerable to any of his attacks._

_He'd come at her in such speed, she'd barely had any time to react to his oncoming attack that was almost invisible to the human eye-good thing for her, that she weren't human._

_Her body was sent off into one of the very thick trees, her back and wings crashed against the hard wood, making her cry out once more, the pain seared across her spine and didn't give her the natural strength to push herself off the tree and forward, towards her opponent._

_She fell on her butt to the ground, coughing twice, before her eyes peeled open to see Kakuzu, hoping to be able to keep up with his speed._

_However, upon opening her eyes, she didn't see Kakuzu-which was something she'd been expecting as soon as she'd fallen to the ground, but…he weren't there._

_He was nowhere to be seen._

_She slowly glanced around herself, eyes narrowed, ears straining to hear any sounds of sudden movement, though, she couldn't see nor hear anything that would send alarm bells ringing in her head._

_Did he just simply disappear?_

_No, surely he wouldn't do that…?_

_He couldn't, not unless he wanted Pein to catch wind of this and do something about it, she knew that Pein wouldn't stand any nonsense when he'd given clear orders to train her._

_Wait, why did she even care about Kakuzu?_

_He was-as far as she could understand-a greedy and very strong bounty hunter, that, quite frankly, scared her into her next life with one of those glares he'd shoot at her every time he caught her staring at him._

_However, it weren't just him as a person that petrified her, it was the thought that he was so much more powerful than herself, that even her super-strength would be the only thing to match his-what appeared to be-normal strength._

_So, why on earth was he made to test her reaction time to oncoming attacks?_

_Surely, that was involved when she'd been training with Hidan?_

_Clearly not, if she were being made to learn it today._

_The sun was still spilling through the cracks of space above from the branches and leaves, this made something shiny-in particular stand-out and catch her eye._

_His briefcase._

_Although, it's black, it was still rather shiny and was still rested atop the table-like boulder directly opposite herself._

_That meant he was still here, she knew he wouldn't leave without his money, he was too greedy for that, so she knew that he was still around somewhere, lingering, waiting for her to get back up again-only to knock her down._

_Well, she weren't going to be made to look weak any longer!_

_Kaida bit her lip as she slowly stood up-still leaning against the tree for some support, her eyes narrowed as she quietly focused on her surroundings, listening out for any sound of movement._

'_This is strange…' her thoughts trailed off as she realised that she couldn't sense him at all, it was like he'd completely disappeared from the forest itself, she couldn't hear him, see him…_

_An idea popped into her head then, something she hadn't done before, mainly because she'd never had too and that was smelling someone._

_Quickly now, she shook her head slowly from side-to-side, as she took in a few shallow sniffs of air, trying to gain a trail of his scent._

_Right…no, she could barely smell his scent there, this was being made more difficult, since she'd only managed to catch a whiff of his scent earlier, just when he'd been so close to her and had sent her flying._

_He smelt of cheap soap and the earth, signalling that he hadn't been in a fight before meeting her-which could be considered a bad-thing, since he would have more energy and chakra to use now, however, he had been travelling before they'd met._

_She was rather thankful that he'd made an effort to look after his hygiene, especially since she needed to smell him in order to locate him._

_However, when she turned her head to the left, her senses were blasted with his scent, but, it weren't exactly directly off into the forest and soon she found herself paralyzed in shock as realisation sunk-in._

_And only two words sprung to mind. _

'_Oh…crap.'_

_Her head snapped up above her, her eyes widened slightly, there he was, stood up above in the tree-straight above her head, staring down at her with those hard eyes of his. _

_It annoyed her that he'd been there this entire time and had managed to not make any sounds, especially, when so close to her; his opponent._

'_He really is good!' Kaida was left speechless at how she hadn't been able to sense him straight-away, it was obvious that he was experienced in being careful around enemies and possibly the art of silent killing?_

_Well, it seems that she'd caught him in-time before he could send an attack her way._

_It was when his eyes narrowed, that Kaida's wings flapped down and she flew away from underneath the tree, just in-time, before moments later, a loud crash was heard from behind herself-where she'd previously been standing._

_Debris flew everywhere, Kaida's body snapped round to face him, her body hovering just a few centimetres off the ground and when the dust finally cleared, he was stood there, idly brushing some dust from the sleeves of his Akatsuki cloak, the carefree gesture made him look rather bored and she weren't surprised, he was most likely used to fighting stronger shinobi than herself, someone that was actually a threat, not some untrained weakling like herself._

_She bit into her bottom lip once more, as her hands reached into her shuriken pouch in lightning speed, swinging her arms up just as quick, they launched into the air and were invisible to the untrained eye, however, Kakuzu's head snapped up at the sound and within the second he was up in the trees once more, having successfully dodged the shuriken aimed precisely at him, he jumped from tree-to-tree above her._

_Kaida glared at him as he moved in such a fast speed, that she had difficulty to keep her eyes on him, she knew that she couldn't get him in a direct attack unless she was close to him, but even then, she couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't hear it._

_She didn't stand-and-stare for long, before her wings began pumping and she shot up into the sky, determined to put some distance between them and catch a better glimpse of him from an unreachable distance._

_Whilst gliding on the winds gently, she looked down just in-time to see what looked to be…a hand attached to some sort of cable? Wires, perhaps?_

_The hand that she presumed belonged to Kakuzu latched onto her right ankle tightly and before she could even try to shake it off, she was yanked towards the ground so fast, that when she fell through some trees, breaking branches as she came down, she finally hit the hard earth below the trees, however, her head continued to swirl for a few minutes, making ti impossible to stand or make out anything through her dazed state._

_She let out some weak moans before she cracked open her eyes and saw him stood above her, glaring down at her with those creepy eyes of his and she could've sworn that time stopped, her eyes met his and they held, staring into those eyes of his, she became very afraid and wondered what he planned to do to her now or if she didn't at least lay one hit on him._

"_You are very weak, I don't know how you managed to sway everyone else by thinking you're Akatsuki material, but, you can guarantee that I'm not buying it for a second, I'm not surprised that Konan isn't proud of trash like you." Kaida's eyes narrowed at the insult he shot at her, feeling the usual ache in her heart and the salty, hot tears that began to build-up at the back of her eyes, though, she was speechless to give him a clever retort, her mind, however, had a voice of its own._

'_How dare he?! He doesn't know anything about me or my mum!' Kaida ground her teeth together in frustration, her eyes snapped shut and she groaned from her physical pain and also that of mental pain._

_The sudden flash of her mothers image, stood before her as she had done years ago, her face adorned with a cheerful grin and such a look of love for her, that she found that she couldn't stomach the thought of Konan glaring at her and telling her she was useless and pathetic._

_Most of all, she was dreading the thought that her mother could tell her that she was unworthy to be her daughter._

_Why? _

_How is it every time that she tried to do the best she can or to prove to her mother that she was worth something, someone was always there to knock her back and remind her of what she was and that she was alone?_

_Why does everyone think so low of her? _

'_I've never done anything to intentionally hurt anyone, I'm always defending myself from others, why does everyone judge me?'_

_A low groan rumbled at the back of her throat in anger and pain, her head and back ached beyond belief, but, she'd forget the pain, if this was the only way to become stronger, then she'd go in with open eyes and become the best she can be until it'd kill her._

'_Maybe then, someone will appreciate my existence…' She sincerely hoped that if she were to die, then her mother would at least come to her funeral and at least shed one tear for her, just one, she didn't expect or want anymore than that, to know that her mum would care about her, would always make her happy._

_But, she weren't there just yet, she still had a long, long way to go and she weren't about to be beaten by a selfish, cold-hearted, greedy bastard like Kakuzu._

"_Tch, what a waste." She heard him mutter gruffly, her eyes blinked once, re-focusing her attention on him once more, she saw him turn his back on her and was beginning to walk away, probably towards his briefcase of money from his last bounty and Kaida found herself smirking evilly to herself._

_Weren't there a saying that went; 'Never turn your back on your enemy?'_

_Well, it was something like that and he was foolish enough to turn his back on her, she weren't finished yet, she still had lots of chakra left to use, she just needed to time both of their movements and use her jutsu's when necessary._

_She weren't out of the fight just yet._

'_Just enough time for…' _

_Silently, sitting up she quickly made hand-signs, the noise catching his attention, Kakuzu glanced over his shoulder to look at her and was a little surprised when she thrust her hands towards him and before he could even dodge what he thought would be an obvious attack, a huge wall of wind smacked against him, taking him clear off his feet and for a few moments he was air-born, he couldn't feel anything beneath him or around him; he was flying, before he fell, neck-first into the ground._

_The sudden contact rendered him speechless, he was astounded that he'd been caught off-guard by what he'd considered to be a weakling. _

_He groaned harshly and slowly sat himself up, aware of the ache in his neck, all thanks to his surprisingly bad landing. _

'_This can't be the same brat that I was 'teaching' before?' Kakuzu thought as he glanced about himself, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood up, he weren't that surprised when he couldn't find her anywhere about the clearing in the forest and where she'd been originally sat._

'_So, she learned the same technique that I used earlier-that means!'_

_Kakuzu's head shot upwards towards the trees and skies above as he heard metal and wings brushing against the still air, his eyes honed on her figure and caught the glint of metal from her axe that he'd spotted upon her back when they'd met._

_He knew that someone that was accustomed to flying through the air would naturally be very fast, but, he hadn't quite believed how fast she was actually flying-well, falling through the air towards him, she was almost as fast as him on ground._

_Quickly now, he hardened his left arm just in-time, before Kaida's short-handled axe fell upon his darkened arm that was as sharp and impenetrable as a steel spear, thus, it connected, but had no effect, however, he felt the sheer power of her strength reverberate through out his arm and across his body, sending tingles across his spine that made him uncomfortable and he narrowed his eyes at her dangerously._

_However, this gave him the perfect opportunity to inspect her closely._

_Her clothes were sensible and were just the right fabrics to wear whilst flying through the air at top-speeds, it was obvious that she knew what was best to wear whilst hiking and flying, he was quite surprised to find that she did have some similarities to Konan, for instance; her long, straight, blue hair that went down past her shoulder-blades and more towards her elbows, she had the same facial structure and nose as Konan, but, it was clear to see what she'd inherited from her father._

_Kaida's big, bright, orange eyes were so dazzling and apart from her blue hair and wings, they would definitely be another feature for someone to call her pretty, her lips weren't as full as her mothers, yet, a little thinner and wide-just right for her face and of course, there were her wings, her beautiful, pure-white wings that would even put a siren to shame were definitely the key wow-factor for her._

'_Just who is her father?' Kakuzu found himself wondering, it could be anyone, could easily be someone within the organization or a complete stranger that she could've fallen in love with when she was younger, because Konan was-what? Thirty-something? _

_When Kakuzu found himself looking into the orange pools for eyes, he found himself enchanted by the rare, beauty in front of himself, although, she was just a kid compared to him, she wasn't a quitter, she weren't as loud as his partner-which was rather surprising and she was weak._

'_But, she'll improve with practise, I suppose…but what does Leader want with a girl like this?' This confused Kakuzu and he hated being confused, it made him frustrated and angry, this usually involved him killing something…or someone._

_He'd have to be careful around her if Pein wanted her to stay alive by the end of this session._

_His conscience was wrenched away from the recesses of his mind, when Kaida retracted her weapon and once again thrust the blade of her axe-that he was sure could cut just about anything in-half-against his arm again, it looked as though she were trying to test to see if she could find a weak spot in his defence, though, the more she kept trying, the more she realised that there weren't no weakness to that jutsu…well, except a lightning style jutsu, but she didn't seem to know that, at least, not yet._

_Her face turned from surprised to annoyed within a minute, seeing that it weren't going to work, she lifted the axe away and swiped it at his mid-section, only to have his hardened arm grab the blade of her axe in his hand._

_Kaida ground her teeth, staring at him with eyes that sparked hatred and pain, to his surprise, he found them shining almost as brilliantly as any polished jewel. _

_And for a moment, he seemed to feel the some sort of remorse for the Angel, she was clearly suffering, he didn't even have to look at the bruise forming on her cheek to know that something wrong was happening to her, he knew that she didn't want to be here with him or the Akatsuki, he would say that she'd been forced to join and the proof was on her cheek._

_He could feel sorry for her, but that weren't his forte, attempting to kill this wretched feeling welling up through out his chest, he clenched his right hand into a tight fist and threw a power-packed punch at her, aiming for her stomach, he wanted to give her pain and make sure she wouldn't be able to get up after this one hit, so that, perhaps, she'd either be tossed out of Akatsuki or she'd give-up fighting him._

_Just before his hand reached anywhere within close proximity of her stomach, her own small hand flashed out of nowhere and grabbed his fist in her own, the grip on his hand prevented his fist from going any closer to her body and he found himself staring wide-eyed at the way her wings seemed to light up, emitting it's own aura, flashing brightly, and he was left speechless._

_The last time someone tried to prevent him from punching them with his inhuman strength, their wrist had snapped backwards, but, hers hadn't even shown any sign of weakening._

_His eyes returned to her gaze and was gob-smacked when he found the orange pools shining along with her wings._

'_Where did she get such power?' He definitely knew now that she really was an Angel, a rare and beautiful being, he knew that Konan didn't possess such abilities to hand-down to her daughter._

_So, who did?_

* * *

**A/N: **In order to get over my terrible 'love-life'-although I've never had one, I am solely focusing on my writing, I will not let my annoying heart-beating-faster-swirly-emotions-jumping-every-time-my-crush-hangs-out-with-me-sorta-thing stop me from writing and day-dreaming, it's really very annoying, so I am going to forget about it completely and act as if nothing has happened…though, saying that, I've had a crush on this guy for a whole year and some months…I don't think he's noticed…if he has, he's probably laughing somewhere thinking that I'm so lame T_T

And by the way everyone tells me that I'm pretty (but not beautiful-I'm not that big-headed) I shouldn't be having a problem -.-

Ah well, all I can do is laugh! Hahahahahaaaaa…..boohoo…

And onto the reviewers!

I'm shouting out a **big** thank you to; 'akatsuki-cloude' for the lovely review :D

**!Reviews are appreciated!**


	20. Faze Twenty

**A/N:** Hey guys! I apologise for the VERY late update, I didn't mean to keep you all waiting, here's a quick run-down of what happened: After Christmas I became depressed, went back to college and realised that everyone in my class hates me and then I accidentally DELETED the folder that contained all of the chapters to my other story (Love Is Eternal) and just lost interest. It is very hard to try and bring yourself back up after all this shit has happened, but I decided that I did NOT want to stop this story, I've worked hard on it so far to be as good and as long as I can make it and I want to prove to myself that I can finish it. So, again I'm sorry for all the waiting and I will be updating at LEAST once every fortnight. Happy reading!

* * *

_**Faze Twenty:**_

_In all his years, he'd never seen such power as this, he hadn't known that there'd been anyone with such unusual abilities that it not only emitted from their aura, but the aura itself turned into a shimmering white light around her wings and slowly around her body._

_The light hurt his eyes, it was too bright, too pure for his blackened soul to take._

_He could barely breath, the air had turned so light that he found all oxygen had left around him, it was like he was being suffocated, but how that was possible, he weren't too sure._

_Kakuzu definitely knew that it had something to do with her abilities, she was an air-type jutsu user, those being quite rare as well, but for her to actually be able to manipulate the density of the air itself was beyond belief!_

_He'd never even heard of anyone being able to manipulate air without casting any hand-signs._

'_This is too unreal…must get away and formulate a plan' his eyes could barely see her through the shimmering white light that seemed to cling to her like a thick fog, her body was slowly disappearing from his sight, only her eyes could be seen; shining at him, seeming to look into his very soul, reading every memory, every secret that he'd known and experienced._

_Quickly now, he ground his teeth together and twisting his body round, he raised his left leg and sent a kick to her stomach, knowing that there was no way she could dodge that without any extra-arms to use._

_His foot definitely hit her, but she didn't bow down in pain, didn't cough or wince; nothing._

_She just merely stood there; unfazed._

'_Oh, come on! She must've felt that…right?' Kakuzu began doubting his own power then, he wondered if he'd kicked her hard enough? Or whether she was an expert at hiding her pain, though, that didn't seem right, since earlier she'd been groaning and almost writhing on the floor in pain._

_Before he could blink, a burst of white light shot around her body and for a few moments, he was blind, he couldn't see anything but the bright light, no trees, no sky, no Angel; nothing._

_It was the worst experience of his life, for right afterwards, he blinked and he found himself looking up at what he presumed was the late afternoon sky._

_It was so bright and warm, his eyes focused and he could just make out the moon shining millions of miles away in the sky._

_Was he dreaming? _

_He had to be! There was no way that she could've made him go unconscious with such a direct attack…could she? Where was Kaida anyway?_

"_Kakuzu, are you alright?" _

_His head turned to his right where the concerned, feminine voice came from, he growled a little as the muscles in his neck felt sore-especially when he tried moving it._

_Speak of the Devil…or in this case-Angel._

_She was on her knees next to him, leaning over him-which in some sense was a good thing, since she was blocking most of the sun away from his eyes that were struggling to squint._

_One of her small hands were holding onto his right arm tightly, just as people usually do when they're trying to comfort themselves._

_He didn't like anyone touching him, he was only used to others trying to kill him and therefore reacted violently when anyone touched him._

_Affection was something he'd never experienced and if he had, it was too long ago to remember it._

_He was about to shove her off of him, but as he glanced up at her face, he was rather surprised to see worry written there, her eyes were still rather bright-but looked very sad and she weren't smiling._

_Why was she worried about him? Shouldn't she wish for him to die than be alive?_

_He couldn't understand her, she was a weird one, that was for sure._

_He grumbled something incoherent in reply to her question, he made an attempt to sit up, but found it difficult, since his muscles ached and felt as though they were going to burst underneath his skin._

_Seeing him struggle, Kaida went to his aid immediately, her hands clasped onto his shoulders, pulling him a little ways up, his eyes scrunched up in pain and a slow hiss emanated from within his chest. _

_Quickly now, she snaked her left arm around his broad shoulders, only realising how heavy he really was, though she weren't too surprised since he was tall and very muscled._

_Once he was sat up properly, he rolled his shoulders, trying to release some of the tension, Kaida's arms fell away from him as she slowly retreated from him, no doubt she feared he'd lash out at her._

_She rested back on her knees, her hands folded upon the other resting in her lap, as she watched him with curious eyes, seeming to be waiting for him to something-anything to relieve her of the agonizing silence._

'_Well, she can suffer for what she's done to me.' Kakuzu growled under his breath, sounding very much like the deadly predator he was, he noticed how she became tense after hearing the sound reverberate throughout his chest and up towards his throat._

_His heated glare remained on her as he struggled to pull his arms up towards his neck, attempting to rub away the painful creak that was throbbing continuously._

'_Just what has she done to me?' His head turned to face her properly as his hands reached around the back of his neck and he began slowly massaging there, trying to dull the throbbing pain._

"_I take it that you did this to me?" His voice came out hoarse, but the anger underlying it was definitely noticeable._

_Never once had he'd been rendered useless as he had been earlier that day, it was rather scary, to think that such a weak _female _could do this to him made him ground his teeth together and want to launch at her and rip those God-forsaken wings right out of her back._

_Kaida was aware of his anger the very moment he'd sat up and realised he found it almost impossible to move around without some assistance._

_Her head bowed slightly, feeling rather unhappy at what she'd done to him, if he were angry before, he'd be even more so now, she'd only have to wait to meet up with him again and then he'd have the perfect opportunity to seek revenge._

"_I'm not entirely sure myself…but, I know that it must've been quite powerful to have done this much damage to you-" Kakuzu felt as though a volcano had erupted within his chest and cut in "You incompetent wench! Thanks to you, it looks as though I won't be able to travel or fight for a good few days, do you realise that I'll be behind and possibly lose another bounty I've been searching for, for almost three months!"_

_Either way, it meant that he was out-of-commission for the time being, not only would he most likely lose that bounty, but now he was unable to defend himself properly if he was attacked._

_God, Hidan would probably choke and die if he heard about this and he surely would, since they had agreed to meet in two days-forty miles to West._

_Kaida winced at his shout and quickly replied "If I'd known about what I'd done before I met you, I wouldn't have used it; it was an accident and I'm sorry."_

_Kakuzu gave her such a glare that she felt unable to look into his eyes and instead, they lowered to the ground, quietly hoping that Pein wouldn't be too angry at what she'd done._

_As if he'd heard her, a cloud of smoke appeared before them and there the Akatsuki leader stepped out and walked towards Kakuzu, inspecting him carefully._

"_What's this? Sat down on the job?" Pein raised an eyebrow, though the barely subtle hint of a threat laced with his words, making even Kakuzu speechless for a moment._

_In answer, Kakuzu merely inclined his head towards the Angel, glaring at Pein, he snapped "Ask her, she's the one that can't control her jutsu, thanks to her, I can't even sit-up without assistance."_

_Pein looked unfazed by Kakuzu's steely glare, his eyes going over Kaida whom remained silent the entire time and didn't even speak up in her defence when Kakuzu accused her._

'_Something is different…' Pein thought to himself grimly, he couldn't understand what it was, the bruise on her cheek was fully-formed now, he doubted Kakuzu had cared to ask about it's origin._

_She looked exhausted-just as she should after her training, it meant that she was working hard, but there was something surreal about her fatigue, like she were looking more like a ghost than alive._

_He stood still, shock skittering up across his spine as he asked "What did you do?"_

_Kaida glanced up at him with those bright eyes of hers-even they looked faded and unreal._

_She merely shook her head and muttered quietly "I don't remember…"_

_Her eyes once again returned to the floor and her head bowed, Kakuzu merely stared at her in accusation and confusion, unsure of what was going on, he remained silent, whilst Pein had a good idea as to what'd happened._

_Turning to Kakuzu, Pein muttered "Thank you for teaching her today, I will teleport you to a hotel in the nearest town, there you will rest and recover, Kaida-"_

_The Angel's head snapped up when she heard her name and stared curiously at the Akatsuki leader, faintly wondering why it was that he had so many piercing-it really didn't suit him, why would her mother dig _that_?_

"_Go and retrieve Kakuzu's briefcase, he's leaving now." Pein commanded, watching her intently as he saw her struggle to lift herself up onto her feet, once stood up, she swayed and slowly turned and went across into the forest to get the same black briefcase full of money that Kakuzu had brought with him before they started training._

"_This is going to be annoying." Kakuzu grumbled miserably out loud, not even caring that the leader of the same organization he was a part of was stood silently in front of him, watching after the girl._

"_It is your own fault for letting your guard down around her, you should be more careful next time." Pein replied half-heartedly, no longer interested in Kakuzu's state._

_This stung the stitch-nin terribly, he knew he weren't weak-far from it, but Pein was right, he _did _underestimate her, mainly because she was a girl._

'_Well, not anymore!' Kakuzu thought in annoyance, his eyes glaring after the now weak Angel as she walked back towards them slowly with his briefcase in what looked like both of her hands._

_Was she holding the briefcase with two hands? _

_She shouldn't need too, that thing was definitely anything _but_ heavy! _

_She stopped by Kakuzu's right-side and quietly bent down to him and gently handed him the suitcase stashed with millions._

_Kakuzu merely continued glaring, even when Pein came up to her and murmured "Wait here, I will only be a few moments."_

_Kaida didn't reply and merely nodded slowly, Pein saw this as the perfect chance to take Kakuzu away, hoping that Kaida would still be there when he got back._

_Placing his hand upon Kakuzu's shoulder, he made a hand-sign and they both disappeared within the thick cloud of smoke, leaving Kaida behind._

_Feeling the heat upon her wings, she carefully turned to look around herself for a tree with enough shade to keep her whole body out of the sun._

_Spying a big tree to her right, she slowly trudged along, highly aware that if she tripped and fell, she wouldn't be able to get herself back up again._

_Somehow amidst this small journey, her head began whirling terribly and soon her vision began to blur into weird fuzzy shapes and colours._

'_This is it, I'm going to die…and no one will care for me…God, I feel so weak…' Her thoughts trailed off as she fell face-down into the grass beneath the shade of the tree and there she lost consciousness, silently praying that Pein, her mother, Deidara would forgive her for not obeying them._

* * *

_Konan was pacing backwards and forwards underneath the tin shelter above Kaida's front door to her apartment._

_She'd knocked many times, wondering if she was at home or just ignoring her, she knew that after this morning, Kaida would be very upset._

_She'd never had the basic discipline taught to her as most youngsters had way before they reached ten._

_Both Pein and Kaida were to blame, Kaida should've known better than to sleep-in and then have the cheek to mouth off at them just for trying to motivate her to get about her training and then Pein should've been more self-contained, as he usually was, but because of pressures from Madara to give him results, it made him more susceptible to being rash._

_She decided to wait, thinking that Pein must've gone to collect Kaida from her training session with Kakuzu and maybe get the opportunity to apologise for smacking her earlier-no doubt she'd have a bruise there now._

_Konan had a fair idea that Kaida would be quite battered from today's training session, Kakuzu was very strong and was angered easily, she wondered whether Kaida's mouth had run-off with her again, she certainly hoped not, if Kaida was dead, then herself, Pein and Kakuzu would be killed by Madara for disobeying his orders and not watching out for her._

_Things were becoming very complicated, however, tomorrows training session would be much easier, since she was being taught by Sasori._

'_Wait…I don't know whether that's a good-thing or not…?' Konan paused in her walking, mulling this over in her head and eventually shrugged._

_Tomorrow she wouldn't be doing anything too strenuous, but Sasori really does hate to be kept waiting and being a master of puppetry and poisons, she knew he wouldn't hold back in killing Kaida at the first opportunity if she should show him disrespect._

_If she survived today without getting seriously injured or killed, then she guessed Kakuzu was having an off-day and went easy on her, but Konan knew that her daughter wouldn't last two minutes with Sasori if she should be rude to him._

_Sighing, Konan gave-up in her pacing and went to lean against the wall next to Kaida's apartment door._

_She knew that Kaida would head back this way eventually, there weren't a back door to her apartment, only one entrance and Konan was stood right next to it._

_She had a feeling that her daughter would some sort of medical attention after today, since she hadn't even recovered from her aches and pains the day before after facing against Hidan._

_It was as she was thinking this, that the usual cloud of smoke appeared and made her snap awake from her thoughts, her eyes watched Pein guide a very weary and…rather strange-looking Kaida from the smoke._

'_Something's different about her…' Konan thought to herself as she pushed herself off the wall and rushed over to Kaida's other side and held onto Kaida's left elbow._

"_What happened?" Konan asked as the trio stopped before the apartment door and Konan bent down into Kaida's back pocket of her trousers to pick out the key where she'd seen her daughter place it so many times before._

"_She is in grave danger, Konan, she used some sort of jutsu on Kakuzu earlier and it was so powerful that he was almost paralyzed; he couldn't even sit up without someone helping him."_

_Konan's eyes widened a fraction as she unlocked the door and pushed it open and they rushed inside, after taking the key out, Pein kicked the door shut._

_They swiftly walked down the hall, through the kitchen and into her bedroom._

_Carefully they laid her upon the bed and Pein quickly went and lit the lamp in her room, whilst Konan shut the curtains, preventing anyone from looking in._

_Pein was at Konan's side, both of his hands gripping her shoulders tightly as he stared deeply into her eyes, stating "Now listen to me carefully, Konan, Kaida is terribly sick and I'm not even sure if she will survive this."_

_Konan felt the horrid clutching sensation in her stomach, but was beyond confused and asked quietly "What are you saying?"_

_Pein took a deep breath and replied "She used a 'Demon Gate', she teleported herself and Kakuzu above Earth, upon a black bridge-shaped into that of a cross, the ones that Christian's wear, it's said that the black feathers of a crow float in mid-air above the bridge; paralyzed-almost like Kakuzu was, simply because when using the 'Demon Gate' time stops and upon returning, time resumes as normal-of course nothing happened, since she's never used that powerful jutsu before._

_The jutsu is untrained, they both merely flashed there and back again, probably there for only a minute at best, but it's left severe consequences on both of them. Kakuzu will be lucky if he can move freely within the next three days and Kaida…well, that's a different story…"_

_Konan deflated for a moment, glancing at her daughter laid upon the bed, with her eyes partly open, though she was definitely unconscious, made her look like she really was dead, her skin was paler than usual and there seemed to be a certain hazy look about herself that made her appear more like a ghost than a living being. _

_Her daughter was…dying?_

_Konan's head snapped back to look at Pein in something short of panic "I don't understand, why has she ended up like this?"_

"_Because she's never used the jutsu before, it is such a powerful jutsu and it doesn't take a lot to activate it, I've only ever read about it, I've never seen _anyone_ possessing the ability to stop time and travel into space and live. At the moment it's caused a lot of strain on her psyche and now her body is flitting from the world of the 'Demon Gate' and that or reality, in other words; her body is struggling to remain in it's real form. If she makes it through the night, then there shouldn't be any worry of her health, but now…" Pein trailed off and looked at Kaida's hazy form laid still upon her bed-much like a corpse would. _

"_That haze around her is signalling she's partly here in this world and partly in another, she's almost see-through, which means that if she disappears…she'll be dead and will forever remain in limbo in the world of the 'Demon Gate' where time has stopped."_

_He waited for that information to process in Konan's mind, seeing the confusion and panic was eating away at him slowly and he knew that given the chance, she'd remain here all night with her, however, he needed her to follow some Ninja that he's pretty sure are ANBU within his village, they had somehow gained entry to his village-he knew this because of the disturbance of the rain and once he knew certain information on them, then he'd act._

"_I-I can't…believe it…" Konan murmured in slight shock, feeling her being pulled by the shoulders across the room and then was made to bend down and sit in a chair._

_She blinked and found herself sat down next to Kaida's side and she quickly looked away from her daughter's deathly form and stared at Pein in earnest "What are we going to do?"_

_Sighing, he replied "There's only one thing for it, we'll have to call Madara to come in and keep an eye on her-" Konan's voice broke in almost frantically as she stated "No, I will not have him near her, he's hiding something from us, I don't like it, he's taking too much interest in Kaida-it's very unusual, all he cared about at one-point was eventually getting Itachi's younger brother to hate everything and destroy Konoha, but now…"_

"_I know, I don't like it either, but there's no other way," Pein bent down and sat on the bed next to Kaida, placing his hand underneath his lover's chin, he lifted her face up to look at him and he muttered "remember, my love, we have a country to run and protect, I need your help on this one, please?"_

_Konan looked from her daughter and back to Pein and lowered her eyes to Kaida's pale and almost-transparent hand._

_How would she ever forgive herself if Madara did something to her daughter when there weren't anyone else around?_

* * *

**A/N: **Will Kaida survive after opening the 'Demon Gate'? Will Konan agree to letting Madara take over nursing her only child back to health? And will Kaida make it in-time for Sasori's lesson if she survives? Find out in the next chappie ;P

Yeah, I know, a crappy place to end it, but my hands ache from all this typing T_T lol.

And onto the reviewers! Today I'm shouting out a **big** thank you to; 'akatsuki-cloude', 'watergoddesskasey' and 'jangonara' for their encouraging reviews! :D

**!Reviews are appreciated!**


	21. Faze Twenty One

**A/N: **I just wanted to apologise for not updating for a long time, my computer crashed and I lost all my stories and college work, so I had to buy a new computer-but instead, I got a new laptop! :D So I have now updated on this story-even though I'm supposed to be catching up with my work, lol. I felt the last chapter sucked in comparison to some of the others, I hope this'll much better and not so confusing as it was in the previous one-looky! 30 reviews! I'm so ecstatic that I shall make this chappie EXTRA-LONG! :D Enjoy!

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**_Faze Twenty-One:_**

I'd planned to never put myself in a situation where I'd have to make a rash decision again, I thought I'd gotten over that faze.

But it seems as though it's an old habit that refuses to leave me, it's something which makes me feel weak and out of control, I hate this feeling.

I thought running away from my problems would've been much easier than facing up to them.

I knew leaving my child to die would have major consequences on her opinion of me should she survive and learn of the truth, but I just couldn't face the fact that one day she'd know the truth of her birth and I couldn't-wouldn't stand-by and watch her cheerful visage turn to that of pain.

A great pain where she wouldn't want to be near me or look at me, she'd probably end-up killing herself.

I always found it difficult being a single mother, no one has ever known of her father's identity and I plan for it to remain a secret, however, I know that secrets don't always remain hidden forever.

I thought that maybe I could do her a favour and save her the pain of knowing the truth, instead, I'd merely fucked her mind up and now she is slowly breaking before my very eyes, falling apart like broken glass from a mirror.

I loved her-yet hated her at the same time.

She reminded me so much of myself when I was younger, she looked almost exactly like me, except for those beautiful bright orange eyes of hers, more beautiful than Pein's usual eye colour that he'd rarely permit me to see and more beautiful than Deidara's blond hair that glistens in the sunlight.

She is beautiful, she is everything I'd hoped her to be and I can no longer deny my daughter her mother.

Too long have we been separated, too long have we suffered, let the ghosts of the past finally be put to rest and now, we shall move forward together as mother and daughter.

Please Kaida, I hope you can forgive me…?

* * *

_The rain pelted against the window pane of Kaida's bedroom, breaking the silence and almost comforting the lone figure of a woman sat in a comfy chair next to the bed._

_The lamp remained lit in the corner of the room, leaving a warm glow to encase them both, almost sheltering their thoughts from the horrid rain and the bitter cold reality that only loomed a mere thought away._

_Konan had been sat there the best-part of the night, it was already three in the morning and although she was tired, she'd been firm in her decision to stay with her only child for there was no way she was going to let a grown man-make that a grown _conniving _man such as Madara himself, she dreaded at the possibilities that would've happened in her absence and it made her shudder every time she realised how close she was to agreeing with Pein that their country was more important than her very own flesh-and-blood._

_Kaida laid here-possibly dying, there was no way she was going to abandon the poor girl again, she'd been very surprised that Kaida managed to survive death a first-time, but now that they'd been reunited, she realised that so much time had been wasted, so many years had passed and if she weren't careful, her daughter would soon become an adult, leave the nest and be married._

_Her little girl could die and she wouldn't have cared-how had it come to _this?

_Well, never again, she'd never allow Kaida to feel alone or hurt, she'd be there for her from now on, she'd take care of her and okay, maybe she won't be excepted straight away, but she'd try and at least remain on talking terms with her._

_She'll become the mother that her little girl had been dreaming of for years._

_The mumblings of her daughter brought her out of her reverie and had her staring at Kaida with worried eyes._

_She'd been laid there ever since Pein had brought her in, minus the jacket and boots._

_The covers on her single bed were brought up to her shoulders, a damp flannel was pressed upon her forehead, but it weren't a fever that was driving her daughter to the point of insanity, but the torturing of her soul._

_Stuck between one world and the other, she was still alive and yet already dead at the same time, she was conscious and yet not._

_Konan hadn't been able to coax her out of her trance-like nightmare that wouldn't cease and she hadn't been able to discern what her daughter was mumbling about, sometimes she'd exclaim things-though it'd turn out more of a groan of pain than a word from the dictionary._

_Through all of this, Konan was left baffled, there was absolutely nothing left for her to do, she could do no more to help her, only hold her hand, dampen her flannel and perhaps talk to her._

'_I feel so helpless…' Konan thought to herself miserably, this was a first time in a long time that she felt utterly useless and unable to find a solution._

_She didn't want to watch her daughter disappear from her-to never return, but it's only what she deserved, she deserved to watch her daughter die, she deserved the pain and anger that she knew she would feel afterwards towards herself._

_Konan's ochre-coloured eyes traced along her daughters trembling form, watching as the girl's skin kept fading away to the point where she was transparent and returning back to normal, there seemed to be some sort of hue warped around her body, pulling her from this world and into the other._

_It was scary to watch, at any moment Kaida could easily disappear from this world and the only thing that would be left are her possessions and they were also very few in number._

_Konan glanced around her daughters room and found to her distaste that the walls to the room were so plain, the room looked bare and her nose scrunched up at how much it resembled to those of the walls found in hospitals._

_There weren't many feminine things in the room and although Kaida didn't look too much like a girly-girl, she certainly deserved to have a room to call her own, some sort of sanctuary that she could return too and shut out the world when she was upset or annoyed._

_Konan sighed to herself and looked round at her daughter once more, thinking of what she thought would be the perfect way that she could apologise to the girl, but of course she wouldn't be able to tell her that surprise until she was awake._

_Slowly, Konan lifted her hand, dipping under the bed covers, she traced her hand along the sheets until she was met with Kaida's left wrist, gently now, Konan pulled her daughters wrist out from underneath the bed covers and held it tightly between her own._

_How long had it been since she'd touched her daughter like this? How long has it been since Kaida has felt any love and comfort within an embrace? Would she ever forgive her for all that has happened?_

_Both of Konan's hands came and joined over her daughters limp one as she stared at them._

"_I'm sorry Kaida, I am a terrible mother, I thought that I could forget about you, that I could get rid of you for making me remember things I'd rather forget, but I know now that, that is not the way for us to move on. I know I have been awful and done plenty of horrible things to you, but…if you could…would you be able to look inside yourself and find that you…somehow forgive me? Even just a little?" Konan leaned forward, wanting to get closer as she talked aloud, some semblance of her mind was hoping that Kaida would hear her words and would choose not to disappear._

_She knew that her daughter was unable to reply to her in her unconscious state, but it didn't stop from trying…and hoping._

"_I don't deserve your love after what I've done, but…I think we should move forward _together _from now on, not as two strangers. See…we share the same blood, share the same appearance and often harbour the same feelings…" Konan felt her lips trembling and quickly took in a deep breath before exhaling, determined to not break-down in front of her daughter-unconscious or not, she would not allow it._

"_Of course it won't be all rainbows and butterflies, but…I want us to be able to talk and perhaps spend some more time together, remember when we went shopping together? I almost forgot what it was like to spend some time with someone other than a man and it was to do something completely harmless." Konan took a deep breath again and briefly closed her eyes, remembering that day when they were shopping in the village for new clothes and food._

_Kaida had bought almost the exact same clothes as she did and it amazed her that they both bought their clothes from the same shop!_

_Call it coincidence or female intuition, but Konan knew that her personality had been passed down to her daughter, of course they weren't exactly alike-that was impossible, but it was plainly easy to notify all the things that she said, did and looked at that Konan had done and said._

_She was very lucky, since Kaida didn't look too much like her father, if she had, then she probably would've killed Kaida in the first place rather than leave her to die with the possibility of being found and nurtured back to full-health._

_But deep-down, Konan knew that she would've never have been able to kill Kaida, she'd grown attached to the child and now she was getting attached to the teen, it was becoming more and more difficult each day to not ask questions of how she'd survived this long and just general things about herself-like what was her favourite colour._

"_If you will permit me, I would like us to have dinner together once a week and perhaps when we have time, maybe go shopping again? Oh, a new shop has opened, it sells all sorts of knick-knacks, really very nice, actually, I was thinking that perhaps we could decorate your apartment? Together perhaps? I'll pay for the paint, carpets and anything else you'd like, I just…" She couldn't continue, begging wasn't her forte and her eyes had watered up to the point where she knew that if she so dared to blink then they'd escape and cascade down her pale cheeks._

_Her eyes were tired enough and she didn't need to make them look any worse by crying, getting upset never got anyone anywhere, all she had to do was to be patient and hopefully everything would turn out great._

"_Please…don't die…"_

* * *

I remember it from long ago.

Everything was so vivid, it's as though I were only there yesterday, when in fact, it'd been years since I've stepped into that house.

My first memory was when I was climbing onto the sofa in the lounge room, trying to get a look out of the window that to me, I thought was huge.

I wanted to see all the trees, the birds, the people and most of all the sky.

I loved the sky and I still do, the warm breeze that makes me excited to want to fly up high above the clouds and soar, the afternoon sun that always made me sleepy and content, the clouds that I used to stare up at and discern many different shapes, the cerulean blue that always poked through the clouds in bad weather, almost as if to say that things weren't always as bad as they seem and then the rainbows!

Such beauty, I used to always get wet every time it rained, I always snuck out through the back door, across the road, down another street, across another road that led up to a farm in the distance, but I always went to the open field there.

The fields weren't owned by anyone, everyone could go there anytime, but not many people did, that was why it was special, it was my special place, my field and my secret get-away.

I always used to go there during a rainstorm, after a thunderstorm, during a heat wave and even after it snowed to make myself a snowman the same size as myself.

It was such fun, things like that always made my day brighter and I often couldn't wait for the next day either.

I was never in a rush to grow-up, I never wanted boyfriends, bras, dolls or any of that sort of thing, I just couldn't wait for the next opportunity I'd get to go outside to my special place, to daydream, play and fly about however I wanted too.

But of course, there were always days when I had to stay in because it was too cold, hot or I had a fever or whatnot.

But they were also fun too!

Whenever I had to stay in the house, mum used to always teach me how to make origami, mum was especially good at it, she could make anything!

I used to wish I could do that, I used to wish that I was like her.

You see, she didn't have wings like me, although she used to make herself have wings out of paper and could control it well enough to fly with me, I always used to feel…lonely.

Mum taught me how to read, write, make origami, cook simple foods, clean my room and sing.

I loved my mum, she was amazing, beautiful and always cheered me up, on down days we always watched funny films whilst eating a bag of cheap popcorn that didn't taste great, but was all we could afford, we used to have a bubble bath together and play games as well!

I never had any friends as I grew up, no one else talked to me and barely even said 'hi' to mum, but they excepted me, they didn't try to kick me and mum out of the village, we were just left to carry on by ourselves, which was fine by me, I only ever wanted to be with my mum, because she's my bestest friend in the whole, wide world, no one is as wonderful as her.

The problems only began once I started Ninja Academy.

At first all the kids just stared at me in silence, obviously intrigued but didn't dare say anything to me, that was fine, I'd coped with that well, however, that didn't last long.

Eventually, someone's parents began telling their children tales of my mum, saying that she was a slut and was entertaining men whilst I was asleep-as if! I often slept in the same bed as mum, so I would've been one of the first to have known if she was sleeping with men.

Others began to get really nasty and say that I was a bastard because I was born out of wedlock, although I didn't care about that so much, since it was mum's decision to have me when she wanted too, besides, I didn't need a dad, I had my mum, we're best friends, we don't need anyone else.

By the time it got to the end of the first year, every kid in the school knew that I had no father, that I was a bastard and thought that my mum was a prostitute, they used to throw rocks at me and chase me with scissors attempting to cut my hair and feathers from my wings, whenever it was wet outside they used to grab fistfuls of mud and throw it at me-only in time did I learn how to dodge with skill that they ended up throwing it at each other rather than at me.

They used to rip my artwork off the walls in school and scribble names on desks and walls that I'm a bastard and a freak, I could hardly care, I knew my drawings weren't very good, I never was interested in becoming an artist, I just always wanted to make origami flowers and animals and sell them in a shop like mum did, as for the names, they did get to me, but I always kept it to myself.

I never wanted to upset my mum, besides, our time together was the only thing I ever used to look forward too.

But of course, mum was eventually called up to the school because of the bullying and the way the kids spoke to me with such disgust that the English teacher almost fainted at the use of their vocabulary.

Mum looked very poised and calm, she was always the epitome of perfection, so graceful and elegant, I knew then that more than ever I wanted to be like my mum, I never cared that I was a bastard, things like that didn't bother me, my mum was the most special thing in the world to me, what she says about me means more than what a load of shit-heads that are jealous say of me.

The teacher told her everything that'd happened to me for the past year, all I could do was bow my head and shoot glances at my mum and teacher from the corners of my eyes.

Mum didn't look too worried, but I had noticed the way her jaw had set in place, the way the muscles worked at the side of her forehead and how much deeper her voice was.

The meeting with my mum and teacher was rather brief, me and mum walked through the quiet school and along the streets to our bungalow, she never once said a word to me and I couldn't bring myself to say anything to her.

I didn't feel ashamed, I just wish that she'd never had to find out.

I believe that is why she left me, because of all the strain of being a single mother and knowing that everyone in the entire town hated us didn't make things any easier.

I could tell she was stressed and upset, but I hadn't expected her to leave.

I should've said something sooner or should've prevented the meeting with my teacher and my mum ever taking place.

Either way, mum changed after that and she eventually left me to rot away to nothing but dust, was it all my fault?

* * *

_Pein was sat within his office once more looking through some paperwork that he'd pushed to one-side earlier that day, hoping that he wouldn't have to look at anymore sheets of paper with requests for missions and what-not, it really was very boring._

_He weren't in a good mood, especially since Konan had turned him down on helping him with a very important task, his city came first before anything else._

_And now…he had to rely on Madara's help in finding out what the unwelcome newcomers wanted here, Pein knew that Madara would want something in return, but what, he weren't sure of, though he could already guarantee he wouldn't like it._

_Sighing, he leaned back in his chair, staring across the room at the wall opposite his desk, he thought of Kaida and how Konan was coping all by herself._

_She was changing-this he knew, having her daughter around her seemed to stress her out, he'd heard her crying out, the way she tossed and turned in her sleep in the night._

_But he'd also seen the way she looked at her daughter, she was getting closer to Kaida, they were slowly forming a bond and although the Angel was rejecting her mother as Konan had once done to her, he knew that it wouldn't last for long, they'd eventually be back together as a family in the end._

_Where did that leave him?_

_He was 'God' after all, he could handle rejection, all it would cost was the person in question their life._

_He knew he had nothing to worry about, Konan has always been faithful to him, his word was law in this city and in her mind as well, he knew that if he commanded it, he could have Konan kill Kaida._

_But he didn't wish to upset her, despite her not being as strong as him, Pein knew that he'd never hurt Konan purposefully, besides, Kaida weren't too bad, she did what she told, albeit with some sarcastic comments and unwillingness, however, she never once disobeyed them._

_Well, she'd been late a couple of times and had exerted herself unnecessarily, but she hadn't done anything serious enough to attract Madara's attentions…yet._

_Pein knew that Madara was conniving a plan, one that involved the Angel, though he weren't too sure what it was, but he knew that if he didn't keep an eye on the Angel, then Madara would surely strike and hard._

_Either way, he couldn't get rid of Kaida, since Madara would have his head as well._

_All he had to do was make sure the Angel did her training well and keep her on the sidelines looking in, making sure that she didn't know too much to put her life in danger and yet not too little so that she angers her superiors._

_It was all such a task, but he knew once Kaida was fully trained, then she'd be able to travel and gain some experience of the truths of reality and how harsh it can be._

_Maybe one day, she may even become a new recruit to the Akatsuki?_

* * *

_Kaida could faintly hear some birds tweeting in the distance, they were singing their songs, she could hear their words, what they were saying;_

"The dawn of a new day,

Basking in all its glory,

Warmth upon my wings,

Mr. Sun has come out to say 'hello!'"

_They sounded so happy and cheerful, it made her wish she could join them in their chorus, be with them, be loved by them and follow them to the ends of the Earth._

_She sighed to herself, if only she could go with them, get away from her cage and be free to sing and roam the skies._

_But not everything can be rainbows and sunshine, reality was much colder and harder to except, she could run away from reality for the rest of her life, only upon her death bed will she realise how cruel the world was and how her dreams had been just that; dreams._

_Nothing more than a fantasy to replay in her mind, over-and-over._

_Slowly, she forced her heavy eyes open, knowing that there was no point laying on the soft fabric for the rest of the day, she glanced about herself and found that she was alone._

_She alone in her bedroom, the sun shone through the partially open curtains, everything looked exactly as it had done when she woke up every morning; neat and plain, but she didn't care-she was home!_

_Kaida turned her head to her side and smiled at the light of the sun, she had rarely seen it in the Rain village before, it was always raining and miserable, did Pein do this? Was he the one to allow her to look at the sun, just once before it disappeared away forever again?_

_She felt tears build-up behind her eyes, it looked just as it used too when she was a kid, the sun always shining, the birds singing happily, the terrible urge to go outside and cloud-watch all day and the fact that her mother used to be there in the background, watching her, making sure she was safe._

_She felt a tear trickle down her cheek seeing the images of her dream flashing through her mind again, the voice that'd spoken had been hers, she knew her own voice well enough, she'd seen things that looked and felt so real._

_Was that really what'd happened?_

_She couldn't remember, her mind had been filled with searching for her mother that she'd shut everything else away, almost forgetting the reason why she wanted to search for her mother in the first place._

'_How could I forget such things?' Kaida wondered to herself as she sniffed quietly to herself, was it Pein that'd brought her back here?_

_Well, whoever it was, she was grateful and she knew that as long as the sun remained, so would her smile…and her memories._

* * *

**A/N: **Well, I'm glad that's finally over! Such a long chapter, I doubt the next one will be as long as this one, but it'll still be around the 8 page mark.

Sadly, I didn't do much for Valentine's day, I don't have a boyfriend, so that's outta the question, haha, but I did go and see a film with my friends, so it's all good.

Today, I'm shouting out a **big **thank you to; 'aurlaO', 'Shyion' and 'Riayna Darkheart' for their lovely reviews-I shall give you guys some chibi Kaida-shaped cookies! X3

I'm really glad to see that people are still enjoying this story, it makes me feel good about myself, my writing and it gives me a boost of encouragement for the next chapter :D

**!Reviews are appreciated!**


	22. Faze Twenty Two

**A/N: Ugh, thank God for Easter break! I've slowly caught up with a large chunk of my college work, so now I will have the next few chapters coming out at a steady pace :) **

* * *

**_Faze Twenty-Two:_**

_It was after a few minutes of remaining laid down upon the bed, before Kaida decided to sit-up, the sun was still shining and she was determined not to miss it, no matter how tired she felt, she knew that this was possibly her one last chance to watch the clouds before reality would take over and she'd be trapped once more within a cage._

_She pulled her feet over the side of her bed, staring at the floor, she remained sat there silently for a few moments, only realizing when she looked down at herself that her skin had a soft glow to it, as though she were more alive somehow, it seemed that her power was shining-creating a soft hue-like veil around her entire body._

_Kaida wondered what she looked like in the mirror, no doubt about it, she was almost glowing!_

"_W-what is this?" Kaida stared at her hands before she quickly rubbed them against her bare arms, in an attempt to comfort her._

_How long had she been unconscious for?_

_Her eyes widened at the thought, for all she knew, she could've been unconscious for months, and perhaps it was summer? Is that why the sun was shining? Did Pein have limited control over the rain during summer?_

_They must all be angry with her, she was holding everyone up _again_, they must think she's weak and doesn't deserve to remain here training under them, why was she always so useless?_

_Kaida lifted a hand and rubbed away remains of her tears from her damp cheeks, under no circumstances was she supposed to cry, she didn't want too, it made her feel weak and insignificant, she may be weaker than her superiors, but that didn't mean she wanted them to think she was pathetic._

_She had to get up now and get dressed, if she didn't, then she'd hate to think what Pein would to her this time round._

_Kaida sighed in depression, glancing around the room for her clothes, she couldn't see them anywhere, it was just as she was going to get up from her bed that she heard muffled voices on the other side of the door, she paused in her movements and listened tentatively._

_The voices grew louder as she heard footsteps coming up to her bedroom door and she could tell one of the voices was distinctly male._

"_Don't worry, I'll just check on her-" The male voice was cut off as he opened the door, she knew the voice was a little deeper than that of Pein's and when she saw who it was stood in the doorway, Kaida's eyes widened considerably and she gasped, feeling the tsunami of tears welling up in her eyes._

_In lightning speed she jumped up from the bed, rushing over to the man stood in the doorway, she cried "Deidara!"_

_His arms caught her as she almost veered to one side-her unstable legs threatening her to fall since she hadn't walked since the day before and held her to him as she her arms clung around his neck, trying to hold herself upright, her head buried into his shoulder as she kept crying his name over-and-over._

_Kaida felt as if she were soaring, she felt so happy at that moment, nothing could deflate, not Konan, not Pein-_no one.

_It'd been about eight days since she'd last seen Deidara, she'd missed him so much, although her lessons kept her busy every day, it still made it really difficult to adjust without having anyone friendly to talk too, well, of course there was Kisame and she supposed Itachi might be interested in being friends, but she felt much closer to Deidara, since he was almost like her in every way._

_If he could be born with wings like her, she knew he wouldn't hesitate for a second; he loved flying just as much as she did and it made things much better knowing that they were good friends._

_She heard him chuckle lightly in her ear, his hot breath causing her to shiver, making her realize how cold she was, from the corner of her eye she glanced down at herself and to her horror, she found that she was merely clad in a nightgown that came just above her knees and would ride up her legs even more should she dare to bend down._

_But that didn't bother her so much, she didn't care what she was wearing, Deidara was here!_

"_I take it you missed me, hmm?" The humor in his voice was easy to read, she also heard the seriousness underlying it and she couldn't resist from pulling away slightly and smiling back at him._

"_Of course I have! It's been so dull without you-oh, I've missed you so much!" Kaida exclaimed, going back to hugging the life out of him once more, all he could do was smile and stroke her hair._

_A cough was heard from behind them, Deidara turned, pulling a reluctant Kaida with him to face none other than Konan, the Angel's mother._

_Deidara's face heated up at the thought that Konan was thinking up indecent thoughts of him and Kaida doing something…well, indecent!_

_But he relaxed once he saw Konan smile softly at them, before addressing her daughter "I see you're feeling much better, that's good, we were rather worried about you…"_

_Kaida lifted her head from Deidara's shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her in confusion "'We'?"_

_Konan folded her arms across her chest, smiling a bit more brighter now, she gave a brief nod and murmured "Yes, me and Deidara were very worried that you wouldn't make it, as soon as Deidara heard, he came here without asking permission and barged in without listening to reason. He's been sat with me all night, I've even had Kisame and Itachi inquiring about your health, they both seemed rather concerned as well."_

_Kaida stared at her mother in slight shock, Konan and Deidara had sat with her _all _night? They didn't get any sleep because they were waiting up to make sure she was alright? They'd been worried about her? So much so that even Kisame and Itachi had asked about her?_

_Kaida blinked once, twice and slowly exhaled a breath of air, realizing how close to death she must've come if they'd all been worried about her, she was really surprised that Deidara had turned up, but even more about the fact that her mother had stayed up the whole night to look after her, Konan could've easily shifted her task to the blond man upon his arrival, but she hadn't, and Kaida was having difficulty trying to process why that was._

_And what was even weirder was her mother was smiling at her-_her_ alone!_

_It looked pretty innocent, though Konan's eyes looked rather tired, she could sense a calm air about her, she looked and seemed very relaxed, and much like herself and Deidara had been after they'd had a meal at the café over a week before._

"_It seems that you've caused a bit of a stir, but never the less, I'm glad you're alright now." Konan didn't stop smiling once and Kaida just stared at her as though she'd spoken in a completely alien language._

_Kaida bowed her head slightly, looking to the floor she murmured "I'm sorry that I worried everyone, but…y-you were worried about me?"_

_Both Konan and Deidara heard the hope in her voice, she hadn't even bothered to cover it up, if she was rejected now, they both knew that Kaida would never trust herself around anyone._

_Konan glanced at Deidara, seeing the serious look he was giving her, she let out an inaudible sigh, she always felt uncomfortable talking about her emotions, especially to someone that she'd been very close for many years, she couldn't even tell Pein when she felt upset at times because she felt that emotions were a display of weakness and of course there was no room for weakness within this organization._

_However, she knew instinctively that if she didn't open up to Kaida, then she'd lose possibly the only chance to ever get close to her daughter ever again, ever since learning that Kaida had been dying she couldn't bring herself to turn her back on her, not in her time of need, ever since the young Angel had come back into her life, she'd found it difficult to ignore her and after looking after her daughter when she was ill, it made it all the more difficult to carry on as though she weren't around._

_Konan knew that she'd more than once rejected her daughter, even in the little ways possible, she didn't want to be reminded of things of the past, she couldn't go back even if she wanted too, she couldn't change anything, no matter how she may have wanted too, she had thought her guilt had been washed away years ago after she'd joined Akatsuki to fight alongside her old friend and lover, however, when she saw Kaida laying there, helpless and fading between two different worlds._

_To think that her daughter could become strong and perhaps one day take over her own role in the organization, although she didn't want that for the young Angel, she also knew there was very little choice left for her, if she wanted to live, then she'd have to tie herself to them forever…until Akatsuki became extinct._

_Konan merely nodded and replied "Of course, you _are_ my daughter, aren't you?"_

_Deidara raised an eyebrow, he was confused at how much the atmosphere has changed between both women in over a week, he was definitely glad for them both, but secretly hoped that this meant there wouldn't be any more problems for Kaida, he hated to see her sad and he knew that it'd affected her ability to learn by pushing herself to try harder than she should, all because she was trying to make it up for the love she's lost and prove herself to everyone that she didn't need help or rest._

_Kaida was once again shocked beyond words and all she could do was nod her head in stunned agreement, wondering why her mother's personality was changing, it was as if the older woman was a whole new person, albeit a very tired one, but there seemed to be something different about her._

'_Probably because she's smiling more than a Cheshire cat.' Kaida mentally dead-panned at the thought, if anything Konan looked a little more than creepy smiling as she is and yet, it also made her look more beautiful and approachable, hell, if she could see Kakuzu genuinely smiling then she'd probably be more nice to him._

_She could barely remember how he'd gone, she remembered watching over him as he was laid down upon the ground, under the trees, he eventually sat with some assistance from herself, after that, it was all cloudy, Konan said that Pein had brought her back and she subtly wondered whether he was making the sun shine outside on purpose, was he doing this for her? Was this his way of saying 'hope you're feeling better?'_

_If it was, then she weren't complaining, she knew he weren't at all good with communicating, especially his emotions, but she knew he had them, he often got angry and yet she couldn't deny that they way he looked at her mother with something short of tenderness. _

"_You should get changed, we'll be going out in an hour or so," Konan half-turned from the pair, but paused when Kaida asked curiously "Where are we going?"_

_Konan smiled again and stated "We're going to get some paint and accessories for your apartment."_

_Kaida stared at her mother wide eyes, speechless for a minute, unable to bring any coherent words to mind-let alone out of her mouth, she swallowed loudly, wondering why her mother of all people would suggest going out and buying paint for her apartment-it would mean that she wanted too…_

_No, she couldn't be serious let alone thinking of the same thing, she wondered whether it was some sort of a joke of some sort._

"_M-my apartment?" Kaida queried, forcing herself to look into her mother's calm eyes, she was rather surprised to see nothing but innocent humor written there, as if she were sharing some sort of joke inside her head._

_Konan nodded, giving her a look of mock surprise, though the smile was still written across her face and in her eyes as she stated "Yes, we're going to be re-decorating it all, I've become sick of seeing the same plain walls, I presume that you don't approve of them, I think you need a bit of color, you may choose whatever you wish and there's no need to worry about costs, I'll be paying for it all myself-"_

_Konan broke-off when she saw Kaida sway on her feet and then fall towards the floor, her breath caught in her throat as she was about to jump to aid her daughter to safety, but Deidara got there first._

_It could be called instinct but his arms grabbed her of their own accord, he'd given it little thought until he'd realized how close she'd come to hurting herself, that he mentally patted himself on the shoulder for being so quick._

_Konan's hand was over her heart, all trace of humor had left, worry ran deep in her features, before she began barking out orders._

"_Thank God, good job Deidara, now put her on the bed, I think she's just fainted from shock, I'll go get some water and a flannel." Konan turned away and stalked down the hall, before glancing over her shoulder, still seeing Deidara kneeled on the floor holding her daughter in his arms and staring at her in confusion, that she raised an eyebrow and snapped "Well? Go on!"_

_He gave a snort and slowly stood up, holding onto the barely conscious girl, he wondered why she was suddenly light-headed, even though she was still a little wobbly after last night, he hadn't thought that the effects were still having a hold on her since she'd jumped towards him with such enthusiasm that'd made him secretly happy._

_Not only did she seem well, but that she gave him such a positive welcome after he'd entered the room and they'd only been away from each other for a week._

_Kaida was guided to sit down upon her messy bed by Deidara, having caught her before she fell to the floor, he quickly sat down upon the bed next to her as she let a few feeble moans, he kept his right arm about her shoulders, keeping her sat up for when Konan will bring her a glass of water to drink._

_Her head felt onto his shoulder and the blond man glanced down at her curiously, his other arm went round and picked up one of her hands laying limp upon her lap, squeezing it, he tried to get her attention by saying "Kaida, do you still feel light-headed, hmm?"_

_She didn't answer him immediately, though her eyes opened slowly, seeing blurry objects again, they focused on Deidara's face which was a little too close for her comfort, quickly she sat up, though moaned a little when her head began to swim and the room seemed to be dancing around her._

_Deidara merely patted her on her back lightly, not saying a word, since she weren't even looking at him, they seemed to be more focused on the floor as she thought over what her mother had just said._

_Her mother had asked Deidara if he would stay for a couple of days to help herself and Konan decorate her _whole_ apartment._

_Kaida didn't know what to be more surprised about, the fact that Deidara was here and willing to help or that the woman that'd shown obvious disgust at her had more than once sacrificed her own time to make sure she was coping well on her own._

_Decorating her apartment would take a good few days-perhaps a week, she sincerely wished Deidara could stay for a week, but she knew that she still had lots of training to complete, she couldn't neglect it forever, not if she wanted to become stronger, but she found this prospect really exciting, Deidara said he loved art, even if he couldn't draw that well, it had to be better than what she could draw, she already had ideas for her apartment, but it was just so surprising that she was actually getting the opportunity to do it._

_She jumped involuntarily when she felt Deidara's hand rest upon her right cheek and turned her head towards him, concern written in his only visible eye and she suddenly remembered that he'd been talking to her whilst she'd spaced-out._

"_Are you alright, un?" He asked probably for the tenth time since she'd been thinking over many things, he was probably fed-up with having to repeat himself._

"_Y-yeah, sorry, I-I…whoa! You're staying for a couple more days!" Kaida's eyes widened at that, a big smile adorning her face and then she blushed, realizing that his hand was still rested against her cheek._

_Quickly now, her head dropped to look down at her joined hands resting upon lap, a heavy blush settling across both of her cheeks, only to see that his hand was also holding onto one of those as well._

_Deidara's hand dropped from her cheek, staring at her curiously, seeing her heavy blush made him realize then that she was shy of him touching her-even merely on the cheek and he grinned to himself mischievously knowing he'd have great fun in teaching her and hopefully succeeding in making her blush again for his benefit._

_He had to admit that she looked rather…dare he say the word; cute?_

_Silence remained around them like a bad smell that wouldn't go away, it was just getting uncomfortable, Deidara was about to pull his hand from hers until Konan came rushing down the hall and into her daughter's bedroom, a glass of water and a damp flannel held in each hand._

_She didn't seem bothered all that much when she saw Deidara holding Kaida's hand, instead, she completely ignored it and went straight up to her daughter, thrusting the glass of water to her mouth, Konan commanded "Drink this."_

_Kaida winced and gently took the glass from her mother's offering hand, she began sipping at it without so much as a retort, Konan realized that her voice had come out more harsh than it was supposed to and quickly went on to say in a much calmer tone of voice "It'll help you feel better…"_

_Once the glass was almost empty, Kaida felt she couldn't drink anymore without worrying about how it was affecting her bladder, Deidara's hand immediately left hers as it took the glass from her hand and got up from the bed, he silently left the room before Kaida could ask where he was going._

_She was worried he'd disappear now that he knew she was alive and in safe hands._

_She didn't want her first and only friend to leave her again, not yet, they had so much to talk about and do, besides, Konan said he was going to help out with the decorating-the decorating!_

_Kaida felt her head spinning again at the thought decorating her whole apartment._

_She felt herself shift slightly when Konan sat down upon the bed next to her, previously where Deidara had been sat, Kaida turned to ask her mother a question, before the flannel was smacked into her face._

_A vein worked itself over-time in Kaida's forehead, resisting the urge to rip it off and throw it back at her mother in retaliation, but she knew it wouldn't work, her mother was 100% fit and healthy, she'd either grab it or dodge it easily, even at this distance, no, she'd wait to get her revenge._

_However, it was her mother's laughter that made her realize that Konan was only messing around, of course the Angel was confused by this strange behavior her mother was emitting, although she was disturbed by the sudden change in her personality, Kaida couldn't prevent the small smile from breaking upon her lips behind the damp flannel._

_Even if she were paid all the money in the world, moments like these were rare in her life, but the Angel knew that she wanted more of them; all she had to do was be patient. _

* * *

**A/N: ****So there you have it! Another chappie complete :) Although I'm finding it difficult to type these chapters, I am really proud of how they're turning out; I'm hoping you guys still enjoy this story? What do you think? Do you like the slight DEIxKAI I put in there? Do you think their relationship should blossom? What about the other members? Any other thoughts or questions? If so, then don't be shy, review and I will reply and your name will be put up in the next chappie :D**

**Today I'm shouting out a BIG thank you to; 'Riayna Darkheart' for the lovely review, I just hope people aren't getting bored with the story? :(**

**!Reviews are appreciated!**


	23. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Hello there!

God how long has it BEEN?! D:

I really want to apologise for the extremely long, long wait for an update on this story, but as of now it is DISCONTINUED (for now). I DO plan to continue with it, only I have two other stories on the go at the moment and would really like to finish those first.

Especially 'Love Is Eternal', that bad boy has been taking forever to finish!

Anyway, to get straight to the point, I realise many of you wish for me to continue with this story and I WILL, but what I plan to do is EDIT all of my previous chapters. Now don't worry, I won't change them too much, I'll try and keep them close to the original, but over the last few years my writing style has changed and I honestly don't know what the heck is going on in 'The Wind Beneath My Wings' anymore. Plus I noticed some spelling mistakes that honestly made me cringe.

I'm really sorry! I know this isn't what you wanna see, I always dread reading these in place of where a chapter should be and I honestly meant to put one of these up sooner, just completely forgot since at the time college work got in the way D:

And then there was the instance where someone COPIED the first couple of chapters of my story for their story and gave NO credit to me whatsoever and yes, I checked the dates and my story was posted way before theirs. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND SHOULD BE ASHAMED FUCKING BITCH!

That was a major-put off for me on this story and I'm really sorry that we have all suffered because of it :(

But have no fear, I WILL try and edit the story as soon as possible and then I'll continue with updating on the story when at least one or both of my other two stories are complete.

In the meantime, please have patience, I'm not at all sure of how many of you still look out for this story, but PLEASE message or review me with ideas or suggestions, I DO like to know what it is you peeps would like and POSSIBLY what direction you want the story to take.

I already have an ending planned, just need to get from point A to point B, haha!

Anyway, I can't apologise enough for keeping you all waiting, but please know I have NOT forgotten this story and will eventually continue.

Best wishes!

WolvesKey :)


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